A Legon security guard criticises MP Lydia Alhassan’s election gifts, saying, “Rice and oil won’t buy my vote.”

A security guard at the University of Ghana, Legon, has expressed concerns over a recent gesture from the Member of Parliament for Ayawaso West Wuogon, Hon. Lydia Seyram Alhassan, barely weeks ahead of the 2019 elections.

The guard acknowledged that the MP had given him a 5 kilogramme bag of rice and a bottle of cooking oil, but he questioned the purpose and timing of the present. He reflected on his experience and said that, other from such items during election seasons, he had not gotten anything from the MP in the previous eight years.

He adamantly declared, “These items cannot buy my vote,” voicing his displeasure with what he saw as an effort to influence people rather than meeting their long-term needs.

The guard’s comments demonstrate the increasing annoyance of voters who want substantive answers to election-season favours. Many believe that democracy should focus on long-term problems rather than short-term solutions to win votes.