Tension is rising four hours into voting in the Assin North by-election amid wild allegations and counter-allegations of vote buying .
At about 0830 hours, supporters of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) nearly clashed in the district capital over allegations of vote buying, but a timely intervention by the police saved the situation.
The two parties have accussed each other of bribing voters with GHC200 per person to woo them.
Aside physical cash, there are counter allegations of sharing of television, cutlasses, Wellington boots, fertilizer, and laptops, among others.
Mr. Ato Forson, the Minority Leader, in an interview, alleged that the NPP was sharing money to ‘convince and confuse’ voters.
‘”We know they are sharing between GHC 100 and 200 cedis to voters, but it will not work because the people of Assin North know what they want.”
But Dr. Okoe Boye, the Chief Executive Officer of the National Health Insurance Authority, refuted the allegation and blamed the NDC for tarnishing the image of the NPP and that the NDC was rather sharing money to voters.
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Mr. Bernard Ankwi-Boasiako, the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the NPP, dared the NDC to prove his Party was buying vote.
As of 1004 hours, out of the 441 registered voters at D/A JSS ‘A’, 170 people had voted according to Mr. Solomon Bentil, the Electoral Officer in charge.
At the Funeral Ground polling centre, Samuel Adobaj, the Electoral Officer in charge, said 207 of the 567 registered voters had cast their ballots as at 10:33.
Though tension is high, particularly in Assin-Bereku, security personnel have so far maintained law and order.
GNA