MESSAGE TO THE PEOPLE OF GHANA – MOBILISE TO PROTECT AND PROJECTPOPULAR POWER

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Fellow Ghanaians, tomorrow we will vote to choose our next President and Members of Parliament.

Our vote is not all powerful but still an important gain from centuries of struggle for popular power.

Voting every four years for Presidents and Parliamentarians is valuable as a stepping stone towards full popular participation in society’s economic and social decision-making

processes. We must never allow voting to become just a fetish – a substitute for a government of the

people, by the people, for the people. We have no illusions about tomorrow’s elections. They will not transform our economic, political, or social situations.

Voting alone cannot end the hardship, powerlessness, and strife we experience daily.

After the elections, we will continue to fight for greater direct participation in decision-making and

an expansion of the areas which are directly under public control. However, the fight for popular

power requires that the popular masses defend our gains, however limited.

This includes protecting the integrity of our elections. The SMG urges all registered voters

to vote peacefully and facilitate transparent and credible elections.

We must insist that all candidates (and their respective Political Parties or campaign

organisations) respect the rules.

We must insist that the state agencies with critical roles – the Electoral Commission of Ghana, the Ghana Police Service and other uniformed services, and the Judiciary conduct themselves professionally, impartially, and accountably in the public interest.

Any sabotage of the electoral process is an attack on the constitution. We have a political

duty and constitutional right to resist attacks on the constitution.

We must all be vigilant in doing our duty and protecting our rights in Ghana.

We shall monitor the elections closely and issue updates from time to time.

Please Stay Tuned. Kwesi Pratt Jnr

General Secretary – SMG