The Ghana Campus of the Webster University has held a public lecture in Accra in relation to elections in Ghana.
The move forms part of the university’s aim at grooming citizens in Africa and empowering them as agents of change.
The lecture which was on the theme “ethical political campaigning: the case of Ghana and the united states” provided an interactive platform for discussions on an how politicians must ethically conduct their campaigns ahead of the November polls.
The programme was graced by international relations analyst, Dr. Vladmir Antwi- Danso who focused on elections in Ghana while a visiting lecturer of the Webster University, Dr. Jean- Germain Gros touched on election in the United States.
Speaking at the event, Dr. Antwi-Danso highlighted on the factors he said were adversely affecting Ghana’s democracy.
“Elections are not just a technical exercise; they are critical political process and are prerequisite for achieving democratic governance. Unethical campaigns will result in false choices; a false choice corrupts a system and undermines democracy. The unethical campaigning are found in monetization of politics, campaign financing, wanting display of affluence, votes buying, busing of supporters, intemperate language and insults etc. All these have become part of our campaigning causing mass of the citizens to be divorce from participation and patrimony has become the order of the day. This is killing democracy in Ghana and good governance is affected.”
On his part, Dr. Jean- Germain Gros charged politicians to be ethical in their campaigning adding that honesty must be the bedrock of politics.
He said for “politics to be ethical, it needs to be rooted in certain values. The ethics in politics entails honesty, political equality, treating people fairly, diversity and all inclusive governance.”
For her part, Director of the Ghana Campus Ms. Christa Sanders said the lecture is aimed at transforming the political system in the country and empowering the youth.
Ms. Sanders said Webster University has a vision to develop global citizens who think and see things differently.
Webster University is an American University with 100-year track record in St Louis Missouri, USA.
The University now offers on-campus American undergraduate and graduate degree programs in Ghana.
–
By: Philip Nii Lartey/citifmonline.com/Ghana