A parliamentary candidate hopeful for the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Robert Alibo, has called for the demonetization of elections in the Talensi Constituency of the Upper East Region. He stressed that candidates must be elected based on their competence.
This, Mr. Alibo noted, would strengthen democratic principles and advance development in the area.
He revealed this when he spoke to Mark Smith on A1 Radio’s Daybreak Upper East show regarding his interest in becoming the parliamentary candidate for the NPP and hopefully the Member of Parliament for the Talensi Constituency.
According to him, delegates who exchange their votes for monetary inducement lose their moral right to hold elected leaders accountable, leading to underdevelopment and bad governance.
“I think leaders must begin to do things differently if we are in any way involved in inducing people to vote for us. That is what I call transactional politics, and I cry for delegates because once I pay you and you vote for me, I think that that is the end of the transaction,” He stated
“We have a social contract as leaders with our followers, and this social contract, as far as parliamentary life is concerned, is for four years, so how many delegates will have that energy after having received huge sums of money and voted for somebody who can go back to him and hold him accountable? You cannot because you have lost that moral ground.” Mr. Alibo added.
He bemoaned that transactional politics is becoming a worrying phenomenon in the Talensi constituency and other parts of the country, and it was important for delegates to prioritise development and reconsider their moral right to hold leaders accountable.
Mr. Alibo, who was in the race for the third time, said that given the nod as a parliamentary candidate and ultimately the Member of Parliament for the Talensi Constituency, he was committed to implementing six propositions that would advance development in the Talensi Constituency.
This, he said, includes creating a skills bank, improving primary health care, reintegrating teaching and learning, ensuring climate change agriculture, adopting natural land regeneration methods of farming and helping introduce a social safety net for vulnerable people, among others.
Source: A1radioonline.com|101.1MHz|Gilbert Azeem Tiroog|Ghana
