Queen Mothers urged to lead crusade against vote buying

Queen Mothers have been urged to lead the crusade against vote buying in their various communities to ensure sanity in the political space.

This would ensure that only credible candidates who have the ability to propel national development are chosen to lead.

A Senior Lecturer at  Ashesi University, Dr Enyonam Kudonoo, said vote buying did not only constitute corruption but also undermined democracy.

“Tell them your vote is priceless. It is not for sale. Let them know that your vote is for your future, and so they should not destroy your future.

“Vote with integrity. Be a responsible voter. Don’t sell your vote,” she added.

Dr Kudonoo was speaking at a capacity building workshop on meaningful voting in Accra last Monday, at an event organised by the university for selected queen mothers in the Greater Accra Region, on the theme: “Queen mothers meaningful participation in the 2024 electoral process.”

The event was meant to empower the participants to go back to their various communities to educate the people against collecting money to vote in the December 7, general election, this year.

Situation

The lecturer said that during elections, some politicians usually dished out money to people with the aim of enticing the electorate to vote for them. 
She said others, on election day, also offered water, food and freebies to voters, all aimed at soliciting their votes.

Dr Kudonoo, therefore, asked the queen mothers to sensitise their people to the vote buying gimmicks of some politicians, adding that voting for such people amounted to selling their future and the country at large.

The lecturer further said that as queen mothers, they had a sacred responsibility to reach out and extend information to create awareness in their communities, adding that their leadership skills as queen mothers must be deployed in that regard.

Rationale

Dr Kudonoo explained that the workshop formed part of efforts by the university to extend its ethical behaviour programmes to communities.

She said it was also part of their corporate social responsibility to reach out to leaders, especially queen mothers who were role models in their communities.

The lecturer said at the end of the workshop, the participants would be given flyers to go out into their various communities to educate people on ethics, such as the need not to sell their votes, and by extension, their conscience. 

Pledge

The Queen Mother of Sempe New Town, Dr Naa Adoley Ablade I, pledged that they would go back to their communities, including markets and churches,  to educate the people, particularly the youth, against accepting bribes from politicians to vote for them, and that there was the need to stay away from trouble on election day.

“If you go and collect somebody’s money to cause mayhem, in the end, it will land you into trouble, thereby bringing problems  to your poor parents and the entire community.

“So, we plead with our families, community members and children to desist from taking money from politicians to cause trouble in the elections,” she advised.