The Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu has cautioned chiefs under his authority not to endorse political parties and candidates as the electioneering campaign heats up ahead of the November general elections.
According to him, it is important that chiefs don’t openly show their political leanings to their subjects as it may negatively impact on their ability to unite their people who may be divided along political lines.
Addressing the Ashanti regional House of Chiefs, Otumfuo however noted that Chiefs cannot be faulted for acknowledging and appreciating government for projects done in their area.
“All the various parties are in your communities so desist from openly showing that you belong to one side, because you serve and lead all of them.
“As humans, when you go to the booth on election day, nobody can tell you who to vote for; that is your choice and nobody can stop you from voting for your preferred candidate. What I urge you, however, is that don’t go showing support for any of them for your people to know where you belong,” he stated.
He continued: “But if government does something for you and you want to express your appreciation, that is not against the law, and there is nothing wrong with that. But showing support for any of the candidates and political parties is not allowed by our tradition so be careful as chiefs”.
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