One of the defeated contestants for the New Patriotic Party’s Ashanti Regional Chairmanship position has disclosed that he paid ¢1,000 to each delegate on the election day in his quest to win.
Robert Asare Bediako said despite paying the delegates, they still did not vote for him.
The defeated aspirant insists he would have won the election if not for the monetisation of the exercise.
However, he said his close contenders paid higher monies to win.
“Whiles I was paying each delegate ¢1,000, I thought I would win but some paid more than me so the delegates also gave in to the highest bidder and it’s very worrying the trend of monetization in our body politics,” Mr Asare Bediako, made this known in an interview on Akoma FM on Monday, May 30.
Again, he is worried about the increasing trend of monetization in the political spheres during elections.
Asare Bediako thus appealed to the National Executives to have a second look at the electoral college system, which he insists allows for gross corruption which contributes to the monetization issues.
Bribe-giving Juaben MCE nominee charged
Mr. Bediako’s comment comes just days after the Office of the Special Prosecutor charged the former municipal chief executive-nominee for Juaben, Alexander Sarfo-Kantanka with 26 counts of corruption.
In a statement on Monday 24 May 2022, Kissi Agyebeng, the special prosecutor said Sarfo-Kantanka is due to appear in court in Kumasi on Wednesday 1 June.
In November 2021, the Special Prosecutor invited the rejected municipal chief executive nominee for Juaben to answer questions connected to corruption-related offences.
The rejected nominee was seen in a video clip which went viral, demanding a refund of his money from assembly members.
“The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has commenced investigations into allegations of corruption and corruption-related offences (especially corruption and intimidation in respect of a public election) in relation to your nomination and confirmation or otherwise as the MCE of Juaben Municipality in the Ashanti Region,” a statement signed by Agyebeng said.
About the NPP’s Ashanti Regional Executive elections
The just ended elections in the region saw over 800 delegates from the 47 constituencies converge at Baba Yara Sports Stadium to elect their new executives.
After the election, the incumbent chairman Benard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, sailed through with 464 votes while his close contender, Odeneho Kwaku Appiah, popularly known as COKA, managed some 306 votes.
But Asare Bediako, Kwabena Owusu Aduomi, and Oheneba Kofi Adum Bawuah polled 22, 9, and 3 votes respectfully.
SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES
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