Politicians Must Publish Their Health Records

A Political Science Lecturer at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) Amakye Boateng, says politicians vying for the presidency in the country must be forced to disclose their health records.

He stated that the Electoral Commission (EC) must compel presidential and vice presidential candidates to reveal their medical status prior to their acceptance as candidates for the parties they seek to represent.

The lecturer has therefore suggested to the EC to make medical records of such presidential candidates’ part of its laws.

Mr. Amakye believes this will help the electorate decide on which candidate to vote for.

Speaking on Abusua FM’s Abusua Nkommo hosted by Kwame Adinkrah, he wondered why some people are emotional about the issue.

According to him, it will be wrong to spend millions of Ghana cedis on elections only to hear untoward after the elections.

He reiterated that politicians have not been forced to vie for higher positions of the land, saying they must be forced at all cost in the future.

‘The EC use tax payers’ money to run its programmes, implement policies and others, because they are serving the interest of Ghanaians, their activities are public in character, hence it's very political.

So it’s necessary for the electorate to be privy to information of candidates especially their medical details. It’s seriously political, I don’t know why some people are so emotional and that it’s wrong to disclose that, it’s not everybody who wants to be president, besides nobody has forced them to be presidents.

Look at the amount of money spent on elections, should we wait to hear untoward days after elections, and then we would have to vote again, what is the meaning of this. They must be forced to disclose their health issues. Why must we not know their health status,’ he asked.

He said to deepen good governance, the country must institute laws where health reports of presidential candidates are published in the various media outlets, saying the laws must bind them.