The National Peace Council has entreated the various political parties to provide food for their polling agents during the December polls to prevent them from being influenced. The Council further advised them not to starve their polling agents in the upcoming elections as this could allow them to be compromised in carrying out their duties. […]
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The National Peace Council has entreated the various political parties to provide food for their polling agents during the December polls to prevent them from being influenced.
The Council further advised them not to starve their polling agents in the upcoming elections as this could allow them to be compromised in carrying out their duties.
The Council recalled that information gathered per 2012 elections indicates that some political parties did not feed their agents or delayed in getting them food leading to some vacating the venues before close of polls.
The Ashanti Regional Chairman of the Peace council, Rev Prof Seth Opuni Asiamah made these comments at a stakeholders’ forum held by good governance Africa for the Oforikrom constituency.
He further said since food has no political colourization, food is used to influence such hungry agents by their opponents.
According to him, in extreme cases he said such food they have gathered are sometimes laced with some drugs that makes them drowsy.
“In 2012 the information we gathered is that in many places, some parties did not feed their agents or the food came in very late. Now quite obviously if you send somebody to a polling station at 7:am, they come there by six because by 7:am elections should start.
Some of them may not have even had breakfast and they come and sit there and by 12:pm to 1:pm they have not had nothing to eat. Quite obviously they would get affected in a way and if the other parties bring food to them, food doesn’t have any political colour and so they would eat. And some of the information we have is after they have given them food to eat, some parties would then begin to influence the agents after all they have fed you and therefore you also feel in a way that you are obliged to them. After all the people you are fighting for do not even care by giving you food to eat,” he urged.
He therefore advised all parties to plan adequately for their agents in terms of food, transportation and others.
This he said would make them loyal and not easily influenced by any other party.
Present at the forum were polling agents, parliamentary aspirants, electoral officials and representatives from the Peace Council.
By: Ghana/Ultimatefmonline.com/106.9FM/Theresa Oppong
The post Don’t starve polling agents during elections- Peace Council appeared first on Ultimate FM.
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