Democracy Is Not For Sale: NCCE’s Ophelia Ankrah urges action to curb vote buying

Ophelia Nana Yaa Ankrah, the Eastern Regional Director of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), has urged collective action to combat the influence of money in Ghana's democratic processes. She emphasized that the increasing use of gifts and bribes to sway voters is a significant threat to the country's democratic values and must be addressed before it becomes deeply entrenched in society.

Speaking at Adom Brands' public dialogue titled "Democracy Is Not For Sale," Ms. Ankrah highlighted that while the laws dictate merit-based voting, such practices have been replaced by bribery. She pointed out that this shift is alarming and warned that failure to confront this issue could lead to dire consequences for the nation. According to her, if the collective effort to combat corruption is not initiated, the problem will only worsen.

Furthermore, Ms. Ankrah expressed concern over the normalization of bribery even among young people, noting that it has seeped into primary schools where children offer gifts like pens or pencils in exchange for votes during school elections. This culture of inducement must not only be addressed but also prevented from becoming a norm among the youth.

She called for a national conversation and a concerted effort from all stakeholders, including citizens, political parties, civil society organizations, educational institutions, and others, to restore integrity and accountability to Ghana's democratic processes.