Progressive Alliance for Ghana condemns electoral malpractices during special voting exercise  

The Leader of the Progressive Alliance for Ghana, Dr John Kpikpi, has strongly criticised incidents of alleged electoral malpractice reported during Monday's Special Voting Exercise, calling for immediate vigilance and personal discipline to safeguard Ghana’s electoral integrity.  

The Special Voting Exercise, designed to allow security personnel, media practitioners, and election officials to cast their votes ahead of the December 7 polls, saw the occurence of incidents of alleged vote-buying, voter impersonation, and attempts to compromise ballot secrecy.  

“These included an alleged attempt to ‘buy votes’ in two centres, namely Ayawaso West Wuogon and Sagnarigu in the Northern Region, while voter impersonation was reported from Ablekuma Central,” Dr Kpikpi said. “The other incident of concern was the reported attempt of a voter to take a photograph of his ballot after voting.”  

Call for discipline and integrity  

Dr Kpikpi urged all citizens, including political parties and their supporters, to uphold discipline and fairness. He emphasised that elections should be devoid of coercion or inducements.  

“Vote seekers must not under any circumstances engage in any activity which is tantamount to vote-buying. No money ‘gifts’ nor material ‘gifts’ such as food, clothes, etc., should be offered to voters in exchange for their votes,” he stated.  

“Free and fair elections mean people are indeed free from coercion and inducements to make their own decisions.”  

Concerns over security personnel  

Expressing particular concern about the involvement of security personnel in the reported incidents, Dr Kpikpi highlighted the implications for the integrity of the electoral process.  

“These incidents are particularly concerning, especially since they characterised the voting day of no other group than the security personnel—the very people we will be depending on in the main for protecting the integrity of the election results,” he observed.  

He warned that such acts should serve as early warning signs for all citizens to remain alert and committed to maintaining peace.  

Institutional responsibility and citizen vigilance  

Dr Kpikpi called on Ghana’s institutions to rise to the occasion during this critical period. “Our institutions must be reminded that this is a critical time in the history of our country when they need to do their best without any bias towards any political party or personality. The peace and well-being of this nation depend on security officials. We need their best efforts right now.”  

He further urged citizens to stay vigilant and report any malpractices to law enforcement agencies promptly.  

“Together, let’s all put our best feet forward towards making Election 2024 a big success. Let Ghana win again,” he concluded.