Former President, John Dramani Mahama has stated that the composition of the National Democratic Congress [NDC] and the New Patriotic Party [NPP], have contributed to Ghanaians’ significant interest in party politics.
He made this assertion at a public lecture on ‘Financing Political Campaigns in Ghana’ at the UPSA on March 22, 2023.
“On the structure of our parties, the NDC and NPP, have maintained quite a good network across the country and this has helped to generate strong interest in party politics among Ghanaians,” Mahama noted
According to Mr Mahama, Ghana has held eight (8) presidential and parliamentary elections since 1992, three of which—the ones held in 2000, 2008, and 2016 have resulted in the peaceful transfer of power from the ruling party to the opposition.
He maintained that as a result, there has been an averagely high voter turnout in our presidential and parliamentary elections.
“For example, the turnout for 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2020 were 85%, 73%, 80%, 69%, and 79% respectively. By peer standards, these are relatively high, and on that score, Ghana’s democratic credentials have been touted as among the best in the sub-region.” Mr Mahama added
He, however, stated that the assessment ignores other aspects of the democracy that have not progressed and are, in fact, impacting negatively on the progress made so far.
According to him, this is to do with the level of transparency and depth of regulatory oversight on how campaigns are financed in Ghana.
“Usually, the normal practice has been that a political party would derive its resources from the regular dues paid by its members; donations by individuals; or special fundraising by the party for specific purposes.” Mr Mahama averred
The aspiring National Democratic Congress (NDC) Presidential Candidate, referenced Ghana Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) report in recent times that some financing of political campaigns was coming from illegal activities such as illegal miners, oil bunkering businessmen, fraudulent businesses, procurement dealings in the award of contracts, among others.
he said their study even reported that there appeared to be a strong association between the financing of political campaigns and organized crime in Ghana.
“This is worrying! Worrying because it has the potential of mortgaging our governance system to criminals. If that happens, our democracy would be gradually turned into a plutocracy–a country ruled indirectly by a few wealthy individuals.
“Ladies and gentlemen, viable political parties play a strong role in promoting democracy and sustainable development in any country. They perform key roles in the formation of government, develop leaders at various levels, and serve as a watchdog for incumbent governments. This is why we cannot continue to ignore the healthy development of our political parties, given the fact that these also state political institutions.” Mr Mahama stated
