Democracy Is Not For Sale: NPP Central Regional Secretary calls for sanctions against vote-buying

The Central Regional Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Richard Takyi-Mensah, has called on political parties to enforce strict sanctions against aspirants who engage in vote-buying to deter others from the practice.

He said the failure of party leadership to take decisive action against offenders was contributing to the persistence of vote-buying in Ghana’s political system.

Speaking at the Central Regional edition of the “Democracy Is Not For Sale” programme at the Centre for National Culture in Cape Coast, Mr Takyi-Mensah said political contests should focus on candidates’ visions and their ability to deliver development rather than the distribution of gifts.

He lamented that the growing practice of distributing items such as television sets and air conditioners was undermining that process.

“The conversation should be about who has been able to develop the area better, not trying to score political points by sharing TVs and air conditioners,” he said.

Mr Takyi-Mensah said the problem was partly rooted in the lack of trust between voters and elected representatives, explaining that some politicians become difficult to reach after winning elections and fail to fulfil their campaign promises.

He said the situation had encouraged some voters to accept money and gifts from aspirants, believing that collecting such items before elections was their only opportunity to benefit from politicians.

“The problem also is that the people do not have trust in the people they elected because after coming to power, they do not deliver on their promises. So, the people would rather collect their share, which unfortunately is vote-buying,” he said.

The NPP regional secretary further cited the controversy surrounding the party’s primaries in the Ayawaso East constituency, where National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary aspirant Baba Jamal faced allegations of distributing television sets to delegates.

He said although the NDC had considered disciplinary action against Mr Jamal over the allegations, the party failed to demonstrate the resolve needed to enforce its rules.

Mr Takyi-Mensah argued that political parties must be prepared to punish aspirants found culpable of vote-buying, regardless of their positions or influence within the party.

According to him, firm disciplinary action would serve as a deterrent and help restore public confidence in the electoral process.

He stressed that the responsibility for addressing vote-buying rested significantly with party leadership, which must ensure that internal elections are determined by candidates’ ideas, records and development plans rather than their financial resources.

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