HOPE Campaigners Line up streets of Accra

Over 500 HOPE Champions lined up the street at the Okponglo traffic lights towards Shiashie to launch the street placard version of the HOPE campaign.
The HOPE campaign, which has been associated with the NPP because of their red, blue and white colors was initially met with a lot of controversy; when they proposed that they are a Non-partisan advocacy group with its main intent to encourage voters to vote based on who offers the best proposition for the future.
Leaders of the campaign insist that the HOPE campaign is aimed at educating voters to be actively involved in choosing leaders; their vote based on the real issues that affect their lives such as choosing leaders who will be Honest, offer Opportunity for entrepreneurship and job creation, create Prosperity and deliver free, quality basic Education.
"Majority of voters, especially the youth and the illiterate have not connected their own aspirations with who governs them.
They are totally disconnected from the process of governance, and most will tell you they don't care. After all 'they are all the same'. They do not understand that whether you can marry that girlfriend when you plan to; buy your first car; get a job that pays you well and on time; or even afford to send your mother a monthly token for her upkeep is based on who you vote for today.
“A lot of voters are swayed by various gifts including money, sewing machines, motorcycles, basins and even slippers! Is that what we are worth? We want people to understand that whatever they sell their vote for, they sell their birthright. You become the biblical Esau who sold his birthright for a meal, and you can never receive the blessings that was to be yours," Mrs Sheila Sam, a leading member of the HOPE campaign said.
"Many will go to the polls and vote. Some will also not be bothered to go at all. How do we allow our votes to go waste when we have the power to change our destiny? We must help people to understand that four years is a very long time to waste, to put your life and aspirations in the hands of a leadership who does not consider you a priority.
“There are messages being propagated by various political parties. We must be very interested in these discussions. Do we believe in what is being proposed? Are we asking questions? Are we asking for more information to help us make the right decisions? These are all the reasons why we demand so little of our leaders and they take us for granted. We must do more and that's what HOPE is about.”
Mrs. Sam added “the HOPE campaign believes that it can make an impact in helping shape the way people vote in the future. If we believe there is a problem which politicians are taking advantage of today, such as illiteracy and vulnerability, then this is the time to get involved. The next generation of politics must be smarter, fun and innovative.
Politicians must prove that they have the ability to govern, and not just win elections. The electorate must demand what was promised in a term, and must get rid of governments who do not deliver on their promises. If we want to see these then we must act.”