UFP Condemns Vote Buying In NPP

The United Front Party (UFP) has condemned the illegal practice of vote buying in the parliamentary primaries of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

The UFP therefore called on its mother party, the NPP to desist from the act in future elections.

The party made this known in a statement signed by Nana Kusi-Poku Listowell, General Secretary/Communication Director of the UFP and copied to Ghana News Agency.

The UFP urged the clergy, civil society groups, political parties, and well- wishers to rise against the bad philosophy of vote buying in the Ghanaian politics.

The UFP said when members were breaking away from the NPP their fundamental reasons was that the NPP was suffering from acute leadership paralysis.

“Indeed our remarks regarding vote buying in the NPP saw so many verbal and physical attacks. Now it is … that the bad NPP headship, if not brought to book, is likely to influence our general election negatively,” the statement said.

The UFP said they would have shut up but for the fact that vote buying is gradually becoming a customary practices in the NPP and likely to be the highest degree to mar the great strides and face-lifting successes chalked out in the country’s democratic dispensation.

“We even though have had the mightiest shock, upon hearing from their own lost candidates, how the whole parliamentary primaries were monicratised. We want the public to show their strongest protest to all their elected parliamentary candidates by voting against them in the next general election to serve as a deterrent to all who are planning and preparing themselves to do same in the future.”

The statement said Ghanaians are embracing democracy gradually but it is sad to mention that the required values such as attitude, intelligence, hard-work, competence, wisdom among others could have been considered as yardstick for one to be honourable Member of Parliament.

“This has now been reduced to ‘who has money to by vote?’ This is a recipe for dishonesty, appalling and corrupt leadership both at the Executive and Legislature arms of government,” the UFP said.

The UFP also condemned the tendency of people using curses as a political tool by invoking the trepidation of gods and goddesses like Antoa Nyamaa River deity when things did not go in their favour.