Election Desk: Campaigning amidst coronavirus, why politicians discontinue projects - Gyampo reveals

With barely two months to Ghana’s elections, both presidential and parliamentary aspirants have begun tours in all the corners of the country to propagate their campaign messages to garner votes of the electorates.

This is all happening despite the prevalence of the global pandemic, the Coronavirus.

Political Analyst Professor Ransford

Read full articleGyampo has cautioned party stalwarts and enthusiasts alike not to throw caution to the wind although the country has observed a continuous dwindling of the number of active cases of the disease.

Having admitted that he was wrong to have thought the outbreak would discourage Ghanaian electorates to be ardently involved in the electoral process, he added that politicians should be more focused on campaigning from door-to-door even after the Coronavirus is no more.

“…if we are able to tame COVID and because of that people would want to hold rallies, so be it. Because rallies add to the excitement of elections… But I’m saying that it should be a blend. If because of COVID we will not be able to organise rallies, people should use the door-to-door, house-to-house approach.

“And those who are standing on their cars should encourage their support bases to put on the nose mask and stop the needless exposure of themselves to the disease.

“I think it’s not helpful,” he intimated on GhanaWeb’s Election Desk.

Prof. Ransford Gyampo also expressed disappointment in the governing New Patriotic Party as well as the largest opposition, the National Democratic Congress for failing to review the constitution after the late former President Atta Mills put measures in place to that effect.

He cited that politicians are unable to continue projects started by their predecessors after they assume power because there is a provision in the constitution which backs their actions.



“… the 1992 constitution in 2006 was realised that even though it has served as right, contains provisions that hinder the maturation of the democratisation process… there are provisions in the constitution that actually frustrates or prevents any effort at preparing any national plan.

…there’s a provision that states that within two years of coming into power of every administration, you must prepare your own development policy framework that talks about socioeconomic and political wellbeing of the people and submitted to parliament,” he added.

He, however, disclosed that having observed this, former President Mills set up a constitutional review commission which was dwarfed after he passed.

Watch the full interaction with Prof Gyampo on Election Desk: