Kufuor condemns vote buying, says it undermines voters’ dignity

Former President John Agyekum Kufuor has condemned vote buying, warning that politicians who pay for votes undermine the dignity of citizens and risk treating the electorate as people they have purchased.

He has urged political leaders to respect voters’ rights and recognise that electoral victory comes with a responsibility to serve and remain accountable to the people.

Speaking in an interview with Evans Mensah on JoyNews’ PM Express, Mr Kufuor said any government that disregards the rights and dignity of citizens betrays the trust placed in it.

“The humanity of each and every one of us is captured in this land. Any government that would come and look down upon any of us like people that should not be accorded the rights and entitlements as owners of this land, that government is a traitor. It has betrayed us,” he said.

Mr Kufuor said his commitment to democracy was rooted in his belief that every citizen was entitled to equal dignity and political rights.

“I'm a democrat, and it's all because I acknowledge every individual within this land we call our nation. I acknowledge you as entitled as me; you are sovereign. And this is why I respect the vote,” he said.

He described voting as the means through which citizens delegate political authority to elected leaders, stressing that those entrusted with power must remain accountable to the electorate.

“Not all of us could go and sit in Jubilee House as government. We have to use the vote to give my power to the person I'm voting for to go. And if I give my power to you to go and govern the land through a government, then this government should be accountable to me. That's where accountability comes from,” he said.

The former President described the buying and selling of votes as an aberration and a form of corruption that should not be tolerated.

He argued that candidates who offer money or other inducements in exchange for votes show disrespect for voters and undermine the principle of freely choosing political representatives.

“You come in, and you want to come and bribe me or buy me, then you don't respect me at all. You're coming to take my birthright from me, and then you get there because you paid me. If you bought me, then you do with me as you want. And that's the utter corruption that shouldn't be tolerated at all. It's wrong,” he said.

Mr Kufuor added that anyone seeking political office should approach the responsibility with deep respect for the citizens whose mandate they seek.

He criticised the practice of offering voters money in exchange for electoral support, arguing that such transactions could weaken citizens’ ability to demand accountability from elected officials.

“That's all because we've been enslaved and abused and treated like subhumans for far too long. So somebody comes and gives you in the village a hundred cedis, a thousand cedis, so you go and vote for that person. And he comes in here to govern you. He's paid for you. He's bought you. And then he mistreats you,” he said.

Asked whether efforts to address vote buying should begin within political parties, Mr Kufuor said the responsibility extended across society.

He urged citizens to recognise the value of their votes and resist attempts to influence their choices through gifts or other material inducements.

“Everybody should take responsibility. Look at your wife. If you didn't have a piece of the power of the land, would you have the right to vote as the Constitution provides? So that vote that's given you as an individual, if you really respect yourself and you understand what the whole thing is about, you won't go and sell it off,” he said.

He cautioned voters against accepting material items in exchange for their electoral choices.

“You won't allow anybody to come and give you whatever it is, television or these days the way the report comes,” he added.