ACEPA Director condemns vote-buying in NPP primaries

Dr. Rasheed Draman, the Executive Director of the African Center for Parliamentary Affairs (ACEPA), has voiced profound disappointment regarding the prevalence of vote-buying observed during the just-ended New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) parliamentary primaries.

He emphasized that these incentives have resulted in the departure of proficient legislators, potentially impeding parliamentary proceedings.

In an interview with Citi News, Dr. Draman cautioned political parties against participating in such practices, asserting that they erode the effectiveness of the legislative body and undermine public confidence.

“I was not surprised that many of the incumbents lost. This is because when we had the list, which included people like Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu and others a few weeks ago, some of us thought that while a number of them must have been tired and wanted to move on and do different things, perhaps towards the end of their lives, a number of them were pushed because perhaps they foresaw the competition that was coming, the role of money in particular. So they decided that rather than even wait and get embarrassed, let me just voluntarily exit. Money played a significant role during the [NPP] polls on Saturday.”

“Unfortunately, this is certainly setting a dangerous trend for our democracy, and I don’t know how we got here. But if this is not stopped, we will wake up someday and every election cycle we are going to have, we will get a completely new Parliament,” he stated.