Agnes Ansah/Rebecca Som
Accra, Nov 15, GNA – Six political parties in Ghana have pledged to combat corruption by rejecting vote-buying practices in the upcoming elections.
The parties involved are the All Peoples Party (APC), The New Force, Convention Peoples Party (CPP), New Patriotic Party (NPP), Ghana Union Movement (GUM), and Movement for Change.
The commitment was made during the ‘Pledge Against Corruption’ conference held in Accra under the theme “Elections and Anti-Corruption: What’s Next on Government’s Agenda?”
The conference was part of the “Anti-Corruption Initiative for Enhancing Governance and Accountability” project.
The initiative aims to raise awareness among citizens about their role in protecting electoral integrity and promoting political accountability.
It also seeks to foster long-term commitments from political parties and their leaders to fight corruption, strengthen transparency, and promote accountability in the 2024 elections and beyond.
Mr. Joe Ghartey, representing the New Patriotic Party (NPP), said that one of the NPP’s strategies for tackling vote-buying in this year’s elections is to rely on party volunteers for campaign financing.
He noted that the NPP had a long history of volunteerism, which would be instrumental in this year’s election effort.
Dr. Maryam Esaka, the running mate for The New Force, shared that their campaign had taken a firm stand against vote-buying by refraining from distributing money to voters during their campaign activities.
She also outlined plans to collaborate with national anti-corruption agencies and local authorities to establish anti-corruption networks at the grassroots level to serve as watchdogs.
Mr. Hassan Ayariga, the presidential candidate for the All Peoples Congress (APC), focused on fostering a society built on integrity.
He suggested that institutions such as the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) would become unnecessary if leaders and their subordinates were sincere.
“If we are sincere with ourselves, we wouldn’t need any institutions to fight corruption,” he stated, referring to the need for organizations like EOCO and the Office of the Special Prosecutor.
Other speakers who supported the fight against corruption included Lawyer Kwame Gyan, Chairman of Political Affairs for the Convention Peoples Party (CPP), Mr. Raymond Livingstone Kusorgbor, Deputy National Communications Director for the Ghana Union Movement (GUM), and Mr. Courage Nobi, Communications Director for the Movement for Change.
The conference was organized by six anti-corruption institutions: the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC), Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), UK International Development, Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), Imani Center for Policy and Education, and the Natural Resource Governance Institute.
GNA