Media Urged to Fight Election Fraud

The Executive Director of the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), Mrs. Mary Awelana Addah, has called for urgent reforms to tackle the monetization of Ghana’s electoral processes. Speaking at the National Forum on the Effects of Money in Elections, held at Coconut Grove Hotel, Mrs. Addah emphasized the need for comprehensive policy changes to curb corruption linked to campaign financing.

The forum focused on monitoring campaign spending, abuse of incumbency, and vote-buying as part of a broader push for party and campaign financing reforms. Mrs. Addah highlighted that while the use of money in politics is not new in Ghana, the increasing amounts being spent by both presidential and parliamentary candidates warrant urgent attention.

“To address the issue of corruption, it is important to set the agenda for policy change,” she said, urging stakeholders to collaborate in the fight against the monetization of elections.

Mrs. Addah appealed to the media to play a crucial role by exposing wrongdoings and raising public awareness about illegal practices. “We need you as the media to continuously shine a light on these issues. Even as we monitor and document the process, the media must take up the responsibility to highlight the wrongdoings,” she noted.

She also reminded citizens that the law prohibits accepting money from political actors, urging them to reject vote-buying and vote-selling practices. “We want to see a citizenry proactively denouncing these behaviors and taking back their power as outlined in Article 11 of the Constitution,” she said.

Mrs. Addah concluded by calling for collective action, stressing that the fight against corruption requires the involvement of all Ghanaians.