Extend Laws To Cover Political Party Elections – OccupyGhana Tells Parliament, A-G

 

OccupyGhana, a socio-political pressure group, has called on the Attorney-General and parliamentary leaders to introduce a bill in Parliament that would extend current laws on election offences to include party primaries and intra-party elections.

The group expressed its concern about the growing trend of vote-buying, intimidation, and violence, which it claims are associated with these types of elections.

OccupyGhana added that strict enforcement will help to curb corruption in Ghana’s body-politic and called on the Attorney-General and parliamentary leaders to demonstrate their commitment to the cause by co-sponsoring the proposed bill.

The group argued that the successful passage of the amendment would also project a positive image for the nation.

Read the full statement from OccupyGhana below:

Press statement

OccupyGhana

Subject: EXTENDING THE CURRENT LAWS ON ELECTION OFFENCES TO COVER PARTY PRIMARIES AND INTRA-PARTY ELECTIONS

Our ref: OG/2023/026

 

9 October 2023

 

Godfred Dame, Esq

Hon Attorney-General & Minister of Justice

Office of the Attorney General & Ministry of Justice

Accra

 

Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu, MP

Hon Majority Leader

Parliament House

Accra

 

Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, MP

Hon Minority Leader

Parliament House

Accra

 

Gentlemen:

 

EXTENDING THE CURRENT LAWS ON ELECTION OFFENCES TO COVER PARTY PRIMARIES AND INTRA-PARTY ELECTIONS

 

We write to invite you to co-sponsor and introduce a bill in Parliament that will specifically extend the current laws that provide and punish for public election offences, to cover party primaries and intra-party elections. We believe that this will be the first step to stemming the now rampant vote-buying, intimidation, violence etc that have become associated with such elections.

OccupyGhana has been very concerned about the phenomena where persons use money and gifts to bribe voters and/or use intimidation, violence, personation, insults, tribalism, falsehoods, etc, against opponents in all elections. These have grown to shockingly brazen levels, especially in party primaries to elect presidential and parliamentary candidates and intra-party elections to elect party officials.

Both the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29) and the Representation of the People Act, 1992 (PNDCL 284) contain elaborate provisions that criminalise all of these acts. Persons convicted of such offences are liable to a range of fines, terms of imprisonment, and even disqualification from voting.

However, apart from the fact that these provisions are hardly seen to be enforced, these statutes refer only to ‘public elections,’ which, as seen under article 49 of the Constitution, may not cover party primaries and intra-party elections. This might explain why we see no prosecutions when these happen.

We therefore invite you, as the Attorney-General and as the parliamentary leadership of the parties with representation in the current Parliament, to co-sponsor and introduce a bill in Parliament that specifically extends the application of these existing offences to party primaries and intra-party elections. The proposed amendment should also remove the requirement for the Attorney-General’s fiat before prosecutions may be commenced.

These, we believe, will indicate to Ghanaians that the government and the two leading parties want to banish this phenomenon from all of our elections, whether public or not, and to every extent possible and permitted by law. When passed, strict enforcement should breathe new anti-corruption life into our body-politic.

Gentlemen, your refusal, failure, or neglect to take this step will finally provide basis for the suspicion that the government and the two leading parties actively support, or are complicit in perpetrating, this wrongful conduct.

Yours in the service of God and Country,

OccupyGhana

cc Rt Hon Alban Bagbin

Speaker

Parliament

Accra

Joseph Osei-Owusu, MP

Hon First Deputy Speaker

Parliament

Accra

Andrew Asiamah Amoako, MP

Hon Second Deputy Speaker

Parliament

Accra

Alfred Tuah-Yeboah, MP

Hon Deputy Attorney-General

Accra

Diana Asonaba Dapaah

Hon Deputy Attorney-General

Accra

Alexander Afenyo-Markin, MP

Hon Deputy Majority Leader

Parliament

Accra

Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, MP

Hon Deputy Minority Leader

Parliament

Accra

Frank Annoh-Dompreh, MP

Hon Majority Chief Whip

Parliament

Accra

Lydia Seyram Alhassan, MP

Hon First Deputy Majority Whip

Parliament

Accra

Habib Iddrisu, MP

Hon Second Deputy Majority Whip

Parliament

Accra

Kwame Agbodza, MP

Hon Minority Chief Whip

Parliament

Accra

Ahmed Ibrahim, MP

Hon First Deputy Minority Whip

Parliament

Accra

Comfort Doyoe Cudjoe, MP

Hon Second Deputy Minority Whip

Parliament

Accra

Mrs Jean Mensah

Chairperson

Electoral Commission

Accra

By Vincent Kubi