OccupyGhana calls for bill to punish intra-party election offences

Pressure group, OccupyGha­na, has raised concerns about vote buying and tribal­ism during elections in the country.

It has therefore called on Parlia­ment and the Attorney-General to extend current election laws and introduce a bill in Parliament to punish election offences commit­ted during intra-party elections.

In a letter dated October 9, 2023, addressed to the Majority Leader, Osei Kyei Mensah-Bon­su, the Minority Leader, Dr Ato Forson and the Attorney-General, Godfred Odame, OccupyGhana said “we write to invite you to co-sponsor and introduce a bill in Parliament that will specifical­ly extend the current laws that provide and punish for public election offences, to cover party primaries and intra-party elections. We believe that this will be the first step to stemming the now rampant vote-buying, intimidation, violence that have become associated with such elections.”

“OccupyGhana has been very concerned about the phenomena where persons use money and gifts to bribe voters and/or use intim­idation, violence, personation, in­sults, tribalism, falsehoods, against opponents in all elections. These have grown to shockingly brazen levels, especially in party primaries to elect presidential and parlia­mentary candidates and intra-party elections to elect party officials.”

The bill OccupyGhana believes when passed, will “breathe new anti-corruption life into our body-politic.”

It warned that refusal by the parliamentary leadership and the AG to initiate such a bill will provide a basis for suspicion that the government and the two leading parties are complic­it in perpetrating this conduct.

“Gentlemen, your refusal, failure, or neglect to take this step will finally provide basis for the suspicion that the gov­ernment and the two leading parties actively support, or are complicit in perpetrating, this wrongful conduct.”

There have been count­er-accusations of vote buying and intimidation by the two main political parties, NPP and NDC during general elections. There have also been reported cases of intimidation during intra-party elections.