Special Voting: Dumelo and Lydia Alhassan clash at Legon police station

The race for the Ayawaso West Wuogon seat has intensified. John Dumelo of the NDC has promised a showdown with the incumbent MP, Lydia Alhassan during the special voting exercise. Here’s why.

The Parliamentary Candidate of the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Ayawaso West Wuogon constituency, John Setor Dumelo, has promised a showdown with the incumbent MP and Parliamentary Candidate of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Lydia Seyram Alhassan.

This comes after Dumelo accused the MP of distributing packs of food to voters during the ongoing special voting exercise at the Legon Police Station. In a video shared on social media, Dumelo raised concerns about the gesture, vowing to give the incumbent MP a “showdown.”

Another video shared by Accra-based Citi FM shows both parliamentary candidates – John Dumelo in a blue shirt, jeans, and dark glasses, and Lydia Alhassan in a white shirt, blue cap, and blue jeans – interacting closely with voters queued to cast their ballots. The footage has sparked concerns ahead of the 7 December elections.

Meanwhile, the special voting exercise is underway at designated polling stations across 14 regions, with over 130,000 individuals expected to cast their ballots.

With less than five hours to the close of polls, voting has generally been peaceful across most centres, with a few isolated incidents. In the Bawku constituency, voting continues despite recent violent attacks in the area.

Earlier this afternoon, the Inspector General of Police and Chairman of the National Election Security Taskforce (NESTF), Dr George Akuffo Dampare, cast his ballot during the special voting exercise. In a Facebook livestream, the IGP was seen voting at the Tema Community 2 polling station.

In a brief interaction with electoral officers after voting, the IGP expressed gratitude for the smooth process and urged that this be maintained throughout the day and during the 7 December elections.