Nana Kwame Bediako, the leader of the New Force and presidential candidate for the 2024 general elections, has refuted claims that he did not vote for himself.
According to him, rumors and videos that went viral after the election outcome, purportedly portraying that he did not vote for himself but rather voted for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) candidate, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, should be disregarded.
He explained that after voting for himself, he was just counting the number of candidates on the ballot paper to make sure it tallied up to 13, which made people perceive that he cast his vote differently.
Speaking during a press conference on December 23, 2024, in Accra, he stated, “The 276 tour that I did, upon all the challenges we passed through, the kind of food and water that we took, the coldness and all, so upon all these, Ghanaians want to tell me that I still went ahead and voted for someone… I took the paper to count if the number was still 13 and if I was still number 12.
“So, while I was counting, somebody said I held it and voted, but you see, as a nation, don’t we get enough of destroying our own?”
He added, “So I want to use this opportunity to clear it once and for all… and yes, my wife voted for me, and my family also voted. That is okay, but whatever they gave us, that is okay because sometimes God gives you 1, sometimes He gives you 10, sometimes He gives you 9.”
He also thanked Ghanaians for supporting his bid in the elections.
According to him, he chose peace over victory, and as a result, he feels he is a winner in the just-ended presidential polls.
It may be recalled that Ruby Bediako, the wife of Nana Kwame Bediako, demanded the whereabouts of her vote during the elections.
Ruby, who voted together with her husband during the December 7 presidential and parliamentary general elections, could not account for her vote after the close of polls.
This follows rumors that Nana Kwame Bediako received only one vote at a polling station in the Korle Klottey constituency (University of Media Arts and Communication (UniMAC) GIJ Campus, Ringway premises), where he cast his ballot together with his wife.
Speaking in an interview, she questioned the whereabouts of her missing vote, stating, “It wasn’t just me. I think it was the whole family that went. I’m heartbroken because I think the system failed us. Where is my vote, people? I don’t know where my vote went,” she said in an interview.
“I think that the comment on social media, it’s not just me. I think there are a lot more people looking for their votes, but we are all very happy. Ghana won, and that’s the most important thing. Let’s all celebrate and support our President-elect. Thank you very much, and thank you, Ghana,” she added.
The Electoral Commission Chairperson, Jean Mensa, on Monday, December 9, declared National Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate John Mahama the winner of the presidential election, with a total of 6,328,397 votes.
Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia of the NPP received 4,657,304 votes.
Mahama's party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), achieved historic success by gaining a majority in Parliament.
According to the National Communications Officer of the NDC, Sammy Gyamfi, the party has so far won 185 parliamentary seats.
Nana Kwame Bediako, on the other hand, had 84,478 of the total valid votes cast, representing 0.75%.
AM/GA
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