The Executive Director of Global Info Analytics, Mussa Dankwah, has expressed concerns over the calibre of people who vie to be in political offices in the country.
His comments come on the back of threats of violence issued by the MP for the Adansi Asokwa Constituency, K.T. Hammond, to have his opponent beaten to a pulp in the presence of senior police officers and the media.
“I mean, in other jurisdictions, many of the candidates that we have in parliament will not be in parliament either,” he said.
As to whether there is a lack of quality in Ghana’s body politics, Mr. Mussa remarked, “I think sometimes it is a problem because certain comments you make as a politician should be the end of your political career in many countries.”
“But here we will make them, and we are still winning elections,” Mr. Dankwah stated.
K.T. Hammond threatens to beat Sammy Binfoh mercilessly
Interacting with some senior police officers after casting his ballot, K.T. Hammond said, “I am going to ensure that he [Sammy Binfoh] is mercilessly beaten to a pulp. I will humiliate him at the polls and get him beaten,” the aggrieved MP told the officers in the full glare of the media.
He alleged that Mr. Binfoh had his men beat up his supporters on the eve of the elections. The Minister of Trade wondered why his men allowed themselves to be beaten, saying, “You have an AK 47 with lots of bullets, yet you took this pistol.”
#NPPDecides : K.T Hammond threatens violence against his contender.#ElectionCommandCentre#3NewsGH pic.twitter.com/zaF1YRuo4f
— #TV3GH (@tv3_ghana) January 27, 2024
He also used unprintable words to describe his opponent and warned him to leave town after the polls.
“Commander, I am saying today I am going to give him [Sammy Binfoh] two forms of showdowns; I will humiliate him at the polls and then organise for him to be beaten physically,” he stated.
Prior to the elections, the Minister had filed a petition to get all his opponents, including Sammy Binfoh, disqualified to allow him to go unopposed.
He accused Mr. Binfoh of not being a card-bearing member of the party. The party’s National Executive Committee (NEC), however, cleared Mr. Binfoh to contest the elections.