Greater Accra Regional Minister, Linda Ocloo, has dismissed allegations that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary candidate for Ablekuma North, Ewurabena Aubynn, is engaging in vote-buying during the ongoing rerun elections.
Speaking to Citi News, Madam Ocloo justified what critics describe as “vote-buying,” insisting that providing transportation money—commonly known as “T&T”—to voters is a longstanding practice and not a form of inducement.
“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,” she said. “If you think that is vote buying, you can also go and buy their vote. It’s as simple as that.”
The Shai Osudoku MP explained that the support is targeted at known party loyalists who have already committed to voting for the NDC.
“If someone is loyal to you, why wouldn’t such a person vote for you with or without money? I do not think giving the person transportation is going to affect the integrity,” she noted.
According to Madam Ocloo, she shared her contact details on radio and received several calls from voters—some from as far as Tarkwa and Kumasi—seeking help to travel to their polling stations.
“I told them that when they come, they should give me a call for their T&T. We are not giving out money. I am saying that we are supporting them with their T&T,” she emphasized.
She further questioned the logic behind the allegations: “When someone calls you, saying that he or she doesn’t have money for transportation, and I tell them to hail a car and I will pay, is that vote buying?”
“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. And equally, in the NPP, people call them for money for T&T,” she added.
The Ablekuma North parliamentary rerun is underway in 19 polling stations following legal disputes over the December 2024 election results. Both the NDC and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) are optimistic about securing the seat