NPP

Claim: X user, @HassanGypsum, posted a video claiming Metro Mass Transit (MMT) management in Bantama, Ashanti region, is selling off buses as scraps after the NPP lost the 2024 elections.

Verdict: False!

Explanation

The Ghana Fact-Checking Coalition (GFC) checks showed that although the Metro Mass Transit Limited is selling parts of broken buses as spare parts, the sale predates the 2024 General Election. The company advertised the sale of parts of broken buses in the dailies in October 2024. The MMTL policy is that functioning buses are not sold, only broken down ones to reduce maintenance cost. A further investigation by the Coalition revealed that this is not the first time the company had sold parts of broken down vehicles as spare parts. This was done in 2013 where the parts of 103 broken down buses were sold as spare parts. It is, therefore, not true that MMT started selling parts of broken down buses after the NPP lost the election.

Claim: An X user shared a video claiming that two men who confronted soldiers during the voting exercise in Obuasi East are now receiving treatment in a hospital. (Source: @RoGoat7 (X) (Archived here).

Verdict: True.

Explanation: We compared the video of the two men in a hospital with the video of the scuffle and found them to be the same people.  Although their shirts were now off, the men were still wearing the same trousers spotted in the initial video. Similarly, an unidentified man who appeared in the scuffle video was also seen with them at the hospital. The X user’s claim is, therefore, true.

Claim: KT Hammond has lost his seat. (Source: Facebook, Twitter)

Verdict: False 

Explanation

Reports that the Member of Parliament for Adansi Asokwa Constituency, K. T Hammond, has lost his seat are not confirmed yet. The Ghana Fact-checking Coalition gathers that the Electoral Commission is still collating results from the various polling stations and has yet to declare a winner. An EC officer in the Asokwa Constituency confirmed to the Coalition that the collation of votes is ongoing and no winner has been declared yet. 

Claim: Some Ghanaians mass up at NPP headquarters as voting continues, according to GhanaWeb (archived here)

Verdict: False

Explanation

The Ghana Fact-Checking Coalition contacted WANEP observers stationed in Accra and they stated that no crowds were gathered at the New Patriotic Party (NPP) headquarters in Accra during the voting period.

The claim made by GhanaWeb on YouTube lacks evidence, as verified by on-ground observers who confirmed that the area remained calm and free of such activity.

Claim: A TikTok account, “NPP Projects” (currently banned), shared a fact card falsely declaring the New Patriotic Party (NPP) winners of the 2024 elections with 51.12% votes ahead of the Electoral Commission’s official announcement.

Verdict: False

Explanation

The Electoral Commission (EC) has not yet announced the official results, as vote collation is still underway. No credible polls or provisional results seen by the Ghana Fact-Checking Coalition have projected the NPP ahead of the NDC in the ongoing count. The false projection appears to be misinformation aimed at misleading the public. While the Electoral Commission is yet to declare the results of the presidential election, Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the New Patriotic Party candidate, has conceded defeat, further discrediting the claim.

_{A screenshot of the TikTok claim}

Claim: A Facebook user (Archived here) claims the police in Bolgatanga in the Upper East region have seized 143 official presidential ballot papers pre-thumbprinted for New Patriotic Party (NPP) candidate, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.  

Verdict: False

Explanation

Although the photos shared in the claim have been thumb-printed for NPP candidate, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the papers are dummy ballot papers and not the official ballot papers, issued for the 2024 presidential election.
The papers in the photos bear the title “Notice of polls” printed by the Electoral Commission in October  2024 for educational purposes ahead of the general elections. Details on the Notice of Polls include the positions, and symbols of the political parties and candidates contesting the elections.

Claim: A  former chairman of the New Partriotic Party, Tahiru Zakaria,  in the Karaga constituency, has been reported by Zaa TV (Archived).to be sharing money to voters at the Abattoir polling station. (2 hours:29 minutes:49 seconds to 2 hours: 30 minutes: 46 seconds).

Verdict: True

Explanation

Voting was briefly disrupted at the Abattoir polling station in the Karaga constituency following agitations over vote buying. Reports on the grounds indicate that a former constituency chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) was seen distributing money to voters who were in a queue to cast their ballots. The incident resulted in agitations leading to a disruption of the process. WANEP observer in the constituency confirmed this to the Coalition.

Claim: An X user, Greffix (@GrefDuah), shared a video claiming that members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) participated in a health walk in Tottenham, UK.

Verdict: False

Explanation

We first observed that the background audio of people singing ‘jama’ was superimposed. The Ghana Fact-checking Coalition investigated the video using GeoSpy AI and found the video was shot close to the National Gallery in London and is unrelated to the NPP or Ghana election.

Screenshot of GeoSpy result.

Claim: An X user claims teachers in Demkyembour in the Akwatia Constituency were each given GH₵300 to vote for the NPP. 

Verdict: True

Explanation

The Ghana Fact-checking Coalition’s findings revealed that NPP executives in Denkyembour in the Akwatia Constituency of the Eastern Region gave money to teachers on Monday, December 2, 2024. A teacher confirmed receiving GH₵300 from the NPP executives in the area. “Your school’s name will be mentioned, and teachers present will go and receive the money,” a teacher told the Ghana Fact-checking Coalition.

Claim:  A youth group on X @nppsweepers promoting Dr Bawumia and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) for the 2024 elections has alleged that ex-President Dramani Mahama built no university during his tenure, in a post that has garnered over 80,000 views and 170 comments.

Verdict: Misleading

Explanation

Checks by the Ghana Fact-Checking Coalition reveal that ex-President Mahama cut sod for the construction of the University of Environment and Sustainable Development in Somanya in December 2016. This was after Parliament had approved a £45-million commercial agreement between the government and Contracta Construction Limited, an Italian construction firm, for the construction of the university. The University was also established by the UESD Act 2015 (Act 898) during the tenure of President John Dramani Mahama. The University was completed and inaugurated by President Akufo-Addo on August 5, 2020.Even though Mahama left office before the construction was completed, it is misleading to claim he never built a single University. Other fact-checking investigations have debunked similar claims, see here and here also here.