Takoradi, Aug. 10, GNA – A group of concerned Ghanaians have initiated an advocacy project aimed at getting Ghanaians to shun politicians that engage in vote-buying ahead of the December elections.
The campaign dubbed “Say No To Vote Buying”, would help fight corruption and other social vices in society.
As part of the advocacy tool, the group has also produced a four-minute video to educate the public on the negative impact of vote selling.
The leader of the Group, Ms. Magdalene Eyram Kwashie noted that “Ghana has over the years been deprived of quality, visionary and selfless leaders because politics has been mortgaged to persons with deep pockets”.
Ghanaians on December 7 2020, will go to the polls to elect members of Parliament and a President to steer the affairs of the country for the next four years.
Ahead of the exercise, concerns have been raised about the phenomenon of vote buying creeping into the political contests.
Recently, “Corruption Watch” an initiative of the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development CDD-Ghana, sounded the alarm on pervasive nature of the phenomenon in Ghana.
CDD Ghana’s latest report called out a number of members of the New Patriotic Party who attempted to bribe their way to victory by enticing delegates with cash and other goodies during the party’s parliamentary primaries.
Ms Eyram noted that the practice had gradually become a phenomenon with its attendant negative impact on accelerated development.
According to her, Vote buying was promoting corruption in the country, “A number of political actors seeking political office, buy their way through to office, and then tend to re-coup their investments through corrupt deals that deprive the nation of the necessary infrastructure investments especially those living in rural communities” she said.
Ms Kwashie noted that the poverty levels in rural areas made inhabitants susceptible to accepting cash and other items to vote for politicians, adding that “these corrupt practices tend to worsen the poverty levels of the voters especially those in rural communities and the need to stop the phenomenon before it gets out of hand.
“Over the years, we have only confined the subject of vote buying to lip service and this is gradually eating away our society’s moral principles. Now is the time to move the talk to another level with such an advocacy video that brings home the real situation confronting the country”.
GNA