Don't be swayed by political sweet-talks

Kumasi, May 10, GNA - Ghanaian voters have been advised not to allow themselves to be either cajoled or deceived by political sweet-talks and promises to vote the wrong people into government during the December polls.

Mr Owusu Ankomah, an independent presidential aspirant, who gave the advice, said, "let us critically examine the political solutions and economic policy choices they present and determine who could better represent our interests".

He was speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview at his Krofrom residence in Kumasi on Monday.

Mr Ankomah pointed out that the country's democracy has come of age and for that matter, elections must necessarily be contested more on the basis of issues than any other considerations.

He invited his colleague politicians to be open and truthful to the people, saying, "There is honour and dignity in always upholding the truth, regardless of the consequence".

The independent presidential aspirant condemned the situation where some politicians go into elections behaving as if "their very world would come to an end if they do not win.

It is this kind of attitude and mentality that often lead to the creation of tension and violence before, during and after elections in our part of the world".

He said it was important for all to recognise that, democracy as a system of governance was essentially about development and not as he put it "a bloody war".

Mr Ankomah observed that there was not much difference between the country's two main political parties, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in terms of economic policies and said therefore, they must both be rejected.

"I think we have had enough of the biting conditionalities of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and it is time we looked for someone who could provide the right leadership that would look from within for solutions to the problems facing us as a nation", he added.