The Presidential Candidate of the All People’s Congress (APC), Dr Hassan Ayariga, has lamented the devastating effects of vote-buying ahead of Ghana’s 2024 general elections. Describing the situation as “disheartening,” Dr Ayariga noted that vote-buying encourages "indiscipline, corruption, mismanagement, and the election of visionless leaders."
In an exclusive interview on Pulse Ghana’s ‘Counted by the Youth’ programme, the APC flagbearer criticised the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).
He stated:
Currently, this country is voting for people with more money than brains, and that is a sad story, a sad event, and a precedent for disaster. This means that the youth of this nation will not have a future because, automatically, they are already disenfranchised when it comes to vote-buying.
Dr Ayariga emphasised the need for education and a change in mindset:
Education is important, but we have a huge level of illiteracy, and that is causing the problems we are facing. Until we come out of that high level of illiteracy, we are going to be stuck with these two leaders who, many will say, buy their way through.
In the interview, Dr Ayariga further highlighted the difficulty of campaign financing to challenge the traditional duopoly in Ghana’s politics.
He noted:
It's been difficult; it's been very expensive. Over the years, I've spent a lot of money trying to build the APC party for Ghanaians to buy into it. Imagine challenging the two major political parties that are being sponsored by various businessmen and stakeholders, while you are not being sponsored by anybody.
He therefore urged Ghanaian youth to focus on the policies of presidential candidates and their impact on their future when casting their votes during the December 7 elections.