The National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) has expressed concern over what it describes as the “deepening” of the culture of monetisation of politics as the country prepares for Election 2024.
The NCCE said it had observed with concern that the issue of vote-buying during elections had become not only a supply problem but voters also demanded money from politicians before they exercised their civic responsibility.
Addressing journalists at a news conference to mark the 2024 Constitution Day, which falls on 7 January, Kathleen Addy, the chairperson of NCCE, described the vote-buying phenomenon as an existential threat to Ghana’s democracy.
“We are at a point where a major criterion for getting elected into public office is the candidates’ ability to dole out cash to voters. It is time to own up to this terrible practice and commit to ending it. If we don’t end it, it will end us,” she said.
She added: “If we only elect those who can distribute hard cash and gifts, we run the risk of exposing ourselves to the dark and dirty money readily available in the world and we will sell our country to forces we cannot even begin to imagine.”
The Constitution Day is intended to acknowledge the nation’s collective efforts at ensuring that the tenets of democracy, the rule of law and principles of constitutionalism are upheld.
It is designed to remind the citizens of their collective commitment to a regime of uninterrupted constitutional order.
The Fourth Republic has now endured far longer than any of the three previous republics, which were all cut short by military interventions.
Source: Asaaseradio
