“Vote buying erodes true democracy” - NCCE

Mr. Ernest Eli Billy Kwami, District Director, National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) Denkyembour, has cautioned political parties against vote buying, saying it erodes true democracy.

He observed that vote buying had become a glaring activity in politics and said the practice ought to stop to safeguard the country’s growing democracy.

Mr. Kwami gave the caution at the NCCE’s maiden Inter Party Dialogue Committee meeting at the Denkyembour District Assembly Hall, Akwatia.

He noted that the effects of the practice undermined the principle of free and fair elections since it distorted the electoral process, making it difficult to determine the true will of the people.

The District Director said a politician by definition was the one that prioritised the needs of the public instead of their personal needs and lamented over the opposite being the case in the country.

He advised the parties and contestants to sell their policies and programmes to the electorate and desist from buying their votes.

The District Director also urged the electorate to vote on issues and stop demanding money from the parties and aspirants.

Mr. Jesse Gyamfi, the Deputy Returning Officer of the Electoral Commission (EC), assured that the EC system was robust and that the integrity of the electoral process was intact.

Therefore, he encouraged the political parties to “feel free” to lodge any complaints to them for redress.

Mr. Gyamfi said, among other things, proxy voting, returning of spoilt ballot for replacement, as well as prioritising the aged and Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) were allowed at a polling centre.

The Deputy Returning Officer emphasised that using political party paraphernalia at the polling centre, impersonation, trying to vote twice, taking pictures of ballots in the screen were some of the prohibitions.

Inspector Hope Ahedor from the District Police Command assured that the security agencies were fully prepared for the task.

He appealed to political parties to adhere to the regulations governing rallies and processions as stipulated in the Public Order Act, 1994.

Source: GNA