The Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) has urged the media to intensify scrutiny of political campaign financing, particularly by investigating the sources of funds used by political actors and the interests of major financiers.
Director of Programmes and Operations at CDD-Ghana, Mr Frederick Adu-Gyamfi, said greater transparency in political financing was necessary to protect Ghana’s democratic process and ensure that public power was not influenced by financial interests.
He said the rising cost of seeking political office was becoming a major concern, as the financial demands of campaigning could prevent otherwise competent citizens from competing for political positions.
Mr Adu-Gyamfi was speaking in Kumasi at a media workshop on regulating political party financing in Ghana, organised by CDD-Ghana with support from the British High Commission.
According to him, while money was an important component of political campaigns, financial resources should not become the main determinant of who could participate meaningfully in politics.
He warned that the growing cost of political competition could increasingly favour wealthy individuals and exclude young people, women and persons with disabilities who might otherwise have the capacity to serve in public office.
“Cost of seeking political office continues to rise,” he said.
Mr Adu-Gyamfi said attention must also be paid to the sources of campaign funding and the potential obligations that political actors could incur towards individuals or organisations that finance their activities.
He argued that the implications of campaign financing extended beyond elections because financiers could expect returns or influence when their preferred candidates eventually gained access to public office.
He therefore challenged journalists to look beyond election results and campaign activities by investigating who funds political parties and candidates, where the money comes from and whether financiers later benefit from government decisions.
He said investigative journalists, editors, broadcasters and community-based media had an important role to play in exposing potential conflicts of interest and promoting accountability in political financing.
Proposed legal reforms
Mr Adu-Gyamfi disclosed that CDD-Ghana had developed a Draft Model Political Finance Law to address weaknesses in Ghana’s existing legal and regulatory framework on political financing.
He said the proposed legislation sought to strengthen rules governing campaign expenditure, political contributions, financial disclosure and reporting, campaign advertising, public funding, abuse of incumbency and enforcement.
The proposed reforms, he said, were intended to improve transparency and accountability in the financing of political activities and strengthen Ghana’s democratic institutions.
The workshop formed part of CDD-Ghana’s broader consultations on reforms to political party and campaign financing.
The Centre has been engaging political parties, civil society organisations, private-sector stakeholders, university students, youth groups and other interested parties to gather views on the proposed changes and build wider support for reform.
The media workshop specifically sought to equip journalists with a better understanding of the current political financing system, the gaps in the legal framework and the reforms being proposed.
Mr Adu-Gyamfi maintained that stronger regulation, combined with sustained media and public scrutiny, would be critical to ensuring that access to political office depended on the ability and commitment to serve rather than the ability to mobilise large sums of money.
