National Democratic Congress (NDC) Chairman Johnson Asiedu Nketiah has called for state funding of political party primaries if all members are required to vote directly in the selection of presidential and parliamentary candidates.
Speaking on JoyNews on Tuesday, August 4, Mr Asiedu Nketiah said the expansion of internal party elections to include all members would significantly increase the cost of organising primaries.
He cited the NDC’s 2014 internal elections as evidence that broader participation, while beneficial for internal democracy, can impose a heavy financial burden on political parties.
According to him, the party had to establish more than 8,000 polling stations across the country to ensure members in remote communities could vote without travelling long distances.
“There are certain electoral areas that are made up of clusters of villages, and in that case you will have more polling stations in the villages so that you don’t ask people to travel,” he said.
Mr Asiedu Nketiah explained that the Electoral Commission (EC) treated the exercise as a private election and required the NDC to bear the full cost of the process.
He said the party paid polling officials, procured election materials and covered all operational expenses, with the exercise costing nearly GH¢14 million in 2014.
“The Electoral Commission didn’t contribute a pesewa, and so in the end, in those days, we spent close to GH¢14 million in 2014,” he said.
While expressing support for broader participation in party elections, the NDC Chairman argued that the financial implications should not be borne solely by political parties.
“My expectation is that even though the system is good, since we are being compelled to help citizens exercise their civic and democratic rights, it sits very well if you ask the state to budget for this exercise so that the Electoral Commission can conduct it free of charge,” he added.
His comments follow the Supreme Court’s 5–2 majority ruling declaring the delegates system used by political parties to elect presidential and parliamentary candidates unconstitutional.
The Court directed all political parties to establish systems that allow every member in good standing to vote directly in the selection of presidential and parliamentary candidates.
The ruling has sparked debate over how political parties will finance expanded primaries and whether the state should play a greater role in supporting internal democratic processes.
