By Daniel Bampoe
The much-anticipated parliamentary rerun in the Ablekuma North Constituency, held on Friday, July 11, 2025, has been rocked by controversies over vote buying, violence, and chaos at polling centres — with an unexpected twist: a startling admission from the Greater Accra Regional Minister, Linda Obenewaa Akweley Ocloo, defending the cash inducements as legitimate voter support.
The rerun was necessitated after the Electoral Commission (EC) nullified results from 19 polling stations during the December 7, 2024, general elections due to authentication issues.
The NDC candidate, Ewurabena Aubynn claimed the seat. She got 34,090 while the NPP candidate, Nana Akua Owusu Afriyieh had 33,881 votes.
At the time, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) candidate, Nana Akua Afriyieh, was ahead by a razor-thin margin of 448 votes over her National Democratic Congress (NDC) rival, Ewurabena Aubynn.
With over 6,800 ballots at stake in the rerun, the stakes were high, making the contest a battleground for both parties.
“It’s Not Vote Buying, It’s T&T” – Minister Confesses
Amid allegations of large-scale vote buying, particularly against the NDC, Linda Ocloo, who is also the Member of Parliament for Shai-Osudoku — appeared to offer a surprising justification.
In an interview with Citi News at one of the polling stations, she openly admitted that the party gave voters money but argued it was only to cover their transport fares, widely known in local parlance as “T&T”.
“People have to come and vote, so if such people come, you have to give them the T&T to go and vote. I do not think that is vote buying. If you think that is vote buying, you can also go and buy their vote, it’s as simple as that,” she said, stirring further controversy.
The minister further claimed that such financial support did not violate electoral ethics, particularly if it was given to party loyalists.
“If someone is loyal to you, why wouldn’t such a person vote for you with or without money?” she asked rhetorically. “I do not think giving the person transportation is going to affect the integrity.”
Mobile Money Transfers Confirmed
Her comments came amid numerous reports that some voters received mobile money transfers ranging between GH¢100 and GH¢200 from the NDC to participate in the rerun.
Some residents who spoke anonymously confirmed receiving such funds before casting their ballots.
Linda Ocloo even admitted publicly broadcasting her mobile number on a radio station, encouraging voters from as far as Tarkwa and Kumasi to contact her for transportation assistance.
“I told them that when they come, they should give me a call for their T&T,” she disclosed. “We are not giving out money for luxury — it’s just for them to come and vote.”
She added that this practice was common across political parties, stating, “Even in the NPP, people call them for money for T&T. If the person is from the NPP, I do not think such a person will call me for obvious reasons. It means such a person is already aligned with us.”
