Programmes manager at the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), Mary Addah, has called for the public sanction of the NDC parliamentary aspirant, Julaina Kinang-Wassan, over allegations of giving out money during the party’s primaries.
According to her, the move by the Special prosecutor to invite her for questioning will serve as deterrent to other future aspirants. She revealed that the doling out cash to delegates on election grounds by the aspirant “is a crime against the state” and for that matter, the OSP will certainly do an investigation.
“… We believe that it is clear that this is a criminal offence and we expect that she would be provided the avenue to face the full rigors of the law. I believe that it shouldn’t just be for the law alone, the party also has some regulations that will not permit things like these. So, as she publicly did this, she also should be publicly sanctioned so that everybody in Ghana who wishes to participate in public elections, will be governed by the laws of Ghana.”
Mary Addah
Ms Addah stated that the development is a “sad” one because advocacy concerning matters of this nature has gone on for a long time.
Describing the situation as unfortunate, she noted that aspirants and other political office holders who put themselves up for public office should know better.
“We have done some work around this in 1996, 2000 and the subsequent elections. So, for us to see a candidate at the party primary level, splashing money in the air and people following to pick up is an unfortunate situation. They should know the laws of Ghana and should be willing to abide by the same.”
Mary Addah
Political parties urged to ensure free, fair elections
Justifying her stance, the GII programmes manager stated that the lady in question has done a condemnable act, which is sad, repulsive and shouldn’t be entertained at all, especially by the party involved. She explained that for the team at the Ghana Integrity Initiative, contemplated issuing a statement to condemn the act because it believes that parties should organize their elections on a fair and free platform so that everybody compete based on ideas and not based on money.
“These images are a big shame to us as a people. We know issues around social media and because of the internet, it can travel very wide. So, if we are seen to be portraying such impudence and impunity, then it means the shining light that we deceive ourselves to be when it comes to the continent, is a big lie after all and this is just a tip of the iceberg…”
Mary Addah
Moreover, Ms Addah emphasized that the Office of the Special prosecutor inviting her to come for an investigation, is the right move in the grand scheme of things. With this, she noted that the NDC equally has a duty to the people of Ghana to show that this is not the behavior it encourages in its party elections.
“They should come out to issue a statement… The party should speak against serious impunity and it is interesting that she didn’t win after all, we hope that this will be a lesson to anyone who would want to repeat such behavior in the future.”
Mary Addah
Meanwhile, private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu has condemned the monetization of Ghana’s politics. He revealed that such practice needs to be condemned.
Mr Kpebu indicated that money sharing by politicians is a blot on Ghana’s democracy.
Commenting on the matter, first Vice Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Ashanti Region, Captain Kwame Jabari (rtd) has described the move by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) to invite the MP aspirant of the NDC Juliana Wassan for allegedly spraying money during Saturday’s primaries at Ejura as “crazy”, questioning what his “locus” on the matter is.
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