Sammy Gyamfi denies NDC's involvement in alleged issuance of defective ballots omitting NPP presidential candidate

Sammy Gyamfi, National Communications Director for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has rejected allegations of election malpractice after an EC official in the Kintampo South Constituency was arrested for allegedly issuing ballot papers that omitted the New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential candidate.

Addressing the media during a press conference this afternoon, he clarified that the materials in question were sample ballot papers, not official ones.

The suspect, Dery Joseph, was arrested at the Ampesika-Bayere Polling Station for distributing about 15 ballot papers that allegedly excluded the name of the NPP presidential candidate, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia.

The police confirmed the arrest and assured the public that investigations were ongoing to uncover the motive behind the incident.

“We are committed to ensuring a free, fair and transparent election process and will address any instances of malpractice swiftly,” the police said in an official statement.

In response, Gyamfi dismissed the allegations as part of a smear campaign against the NDC.

 “You don’t pick one case like this out of 40,000 polling stations and say the NDC, which is not responsible for tearing ballot papers for voters, is behind this. These guys are just wasting everybody’s time,” he said.

He also addressed another claim involving the son of the NDC constituency chairman for Atwima Kwanwoma in the Ashanti Region.

Reports alleged that the young man had been caught with 76 ballot papers. Gyamfi denied these claims, explaining that the individual is a minor and not of voting age.

He also noted that the young man reportedly has a mental health condition and that the items found in his possession were sample ballot papers intended for voter education.

He stressed that rigging an election with sample ballot papers is impossible, as such materials would be flagged during sorting and removed from the count.

Sammy Gyamfi urged the police and the Electoral Commission to investigate the incidents thoroughly and cautioned against using isolated cases to tarnish the NDC’s reputation.

Investigations into the incidents are still ongoing.