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The ruling NDC and the opposition NPP are the main parties accused of vote buying in the on-going Talensi by-election in the Northern region.

Their conducts have sicken hearers and questions have been raised as to why Ghana’s politics cannot do without vote buying.

However, an Independent Presidential Candidate in the 2012 presidential election, Jacob Osei Yeboah aka ‘JOY’ says he is “sad” to see Ghana’s leadership been caught in politics without principles – “Our political disposition is creating a perpetual problem of destroying our value system and the way we conduct our public life to destroy our own society”.

In an interview with Peacefmonline.com, JOY as affectionately called in political circles opined that – “Politics is nurturing in the Ghanaian society character vividly deficient in values and morals that our traditions and religious faiths characterized in our forebears. The youth who are future leaders believe that with politics one can have knowledge without character, wealth without work, and pleasure without conscience, commerce without morality and above all action without accountability”. 

According to him – “Ignorance of the masses coupled with poverty has given room for depraved politicians to place value of how much voters lives are worth to the snap-shot money and goods dished out to voters during voting periods - Indeed there is a wise saying that there is no smoke without fire. However, our public national discourse is characterized by effrontery lies without accountability- politics without principles”.

“…Leaders emerging out of unethical political tactics will in doubt influence our society negatively by creating an environment where evil is called good and corruption seen in the blurred lenses as normal. Indeed, after a political candidate has won elections through what we witness and hear at high cost, corruption of the office is inevitable. Partisan politics is indeed the root cause of corruption in our society which is gradually choking out traditional and religious belief systems.”

“…We need to confidently look forward to changing our electoral laws to specifically state in no uncertain terms of conduct of political parties during electioneering campaigns and items that are allowed to be given to voters. Our legal system can evidently prosecute vote buying both the buyer and the voter and those who make such accusation without proof can equally be guilty before the laws.” He added

How to solve Monecracy in Ghana’s politics

Jacob Osei Yeboah further told Peacefmonline.com that, in an attempt to curb the problem – “The offices of the National Peace Council (NPC), Inter Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) and the Chief Justice must be called upon to work with the National House of Chiefs and Religious faith groups to cure this cancer in our national politics.”

“…For indeed our country has been caught in the vicious cycle of political depravity which can be stopped by conscious effort of the above bodies lest our national security becomes compromised in the near future as corruption begets different forms of social evils,” he concluded.