The Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) has criticized Lydia Seyram Alhassan, the Member of Parliament for Ayawaso West Wuogon, for providing food to special voters on December 2, 2024.
The incident at the Legon Police Station polling centre has since sparked a public debate, with some citing voter influence and violations of electoral ethics.
Speaking to journalists in Accra on Tuesday, December 3, 2024, Dr. Joseph Whittal, Commissioner of CHRAJ, indicated that the actions of the MP were tantamount to corruption.
“It is not right to treat as in the legal term, to share food, to share money to anybody in the queue in preparation to vote. It is tantamount to corruption and integrity issues,” he noted.
He added, “So having seen that it could happen to even security officials, we have always assumed that that will not be the case. It never happened in the past but this time round, it seems it has happened so we will factor that into our next election”.
Meanwhile, Lydia Alhassan says the sharing of the food was based on requests and not intended to influence voters.
She explained that personnel in the queue asked for water. Her women’s organiser provided the water, and observing others, she extended the gesture to those who appeared tired or hungry.
“I thought that there were some people who would need food after I have served my people, and so I decided to give it [the food] to them [the people in queue]. Did you see me giving out food to the people in the queue? The lady with me received a request for water, and in her attempt to give it to the person who requested it, she ended up giving it to two other people who also needed water.”