The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has rejected the Supreme Court’s decision striking down the delegate system for internal party elections.
According to the party’s Director of Elections, Evans Nimako, the ruling will impose a significant financial burden on political parties and strengthen the case for state funding of political parties.
Speaking on Joy FM’s Midday News on Wednesday, August 5, he said the party believes the delegate system is an integral part of Ghana’s democratic architecture and contributes to building strong political parties
This issue of the judgment by the Supreme Court is something that the New Patriotic Party did not really support because we knew that if you want to ensure the growth of democracy, you need to have viable political parties. And the issue of delegateship is part of democracy,” he said.
He said the debate over public financing of political parties has been ongoing for years but has become even more relevant following the court’s judgment.
Mr. Nimako recalled that political parties represented in Parliament had previously engaged the Institute of Economic Affairs on proposals for state funding, but noted that any such arrangement must be supported by a comprehensive legal framework.
“The other twist is that if you do not have the right legal framework, you are likely to open the floodgates and allow the creation and formation of political parties,” he cautioned.
According to Mr Nimako, stakeholders should carefully examine the reasoning behind the ruling and assess whether it addresses the problems it seeks to solve.
“The question that we need to ask is: what does the judgment seek to kill? It is important for us to assess the judgment and follow the reasoning of the Supreme Court,” he stated.
He warned that replacing the delegate system with broader participation in internal elections would substantially increase the cost of organising party primaries across the country.
“In the face of it, this is going to be a huge burden on political parties,” he stressed.
Mr Nimako’s comments come after National Democratic Congress (NDC) Chairman Johnson Asiedu Nketiah disclosed that the NDC spent about GH¢40 million on its 2014 internal elections and proposed that the state should finance internal political party elections.
Responding to the proposal, the NPP official said state funding could become necessary if political parties are required to organise nationwide internal elections, but insisted that adequate safeguards must be put in place before any public financing regime is adopted.
