Political parties in the country, especially the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the main opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), have for long taken voters for granted, and have failed to honour the promises they make to them after winning their mandate, Jacob Osei Yeboah, an independent presidential aspirant in the 2016 presidential election, has stated.

He said the situation was so because political parties had realised that however poor their performance, they would still enjoy the support of the voting public.

Mr Osei Yeboah made these comments during an interview on Accra100.5FM’s morning show, Ghana Yensom, on Tuesday October 18, 2016.

The 2012 presidential contestant added that Ghanaians, often after voting for the wrong candidate and feeling the unpleasant effects of such a choice, go to “disturb God” and “cry unto” Him to alleviate their suffering.

“And that is why…political parties have no respect for us. If they had respect for us, they would not be killing themselves. They would not burn party property during their primaries. Yet we vote for them and when we do so, they plunder our resources,” he told show host Chief Jerry Forson.

However, he urged Ghanaians to claw back lost respect and exercise “responsibility” and be “accountable to the choices they make” by voting for him in the 2016 polls, which he has described as a ‘Respect Yourself’ election, adding: “If political parties do not respect you, show them you respect yourself.”

According to the only independent contestant for December’s elections, a vote for him will signal that Ghanaians have had enough of political parties after entrusting the governance of the nation to them since independence. He said God “deliberately” made political parties win power to show how much they could offer Ghana since 1957, but the time had come for Ghanaians to change the narration by voting for an independent presidential candidate