By Emmanuel Gamson
Takoradi, July 02, GNA – Some Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have called for strong political party financing reforms to curb corruption in the country.
A statement jointly issued by Transparency International-Ghana, and the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), two CSOs leading the charge for the reforms, said various studies during each national elections since 2012 continued to show exponential rise in the cost of election campaigns.
The statement said the concerns being raised by well-meaning political actors and CSOs were further informed by observed weaknesses in the enforcement of existing regulations like Chapter 7, Article 55 (14-25) of the 1992 Constitution, and the Political Parties Act, 2000 (Act 574).
It noted that the combination of weak enforcement and the non-compliance of the political parties, and candidates contributed to the rising cost of campaigning for political office, the risk of illicit wealth flowing into political campaigns, and limited opportunities for women, the youth and persons with disabilities to participate in national elections.
According to the statement, to contest parliamentary primaries and elections, the cost was currently estimated to be GHC4 million.
It said, “CDD-Ghana also estimated that between the year 2012 and 2016, the cost of campaigns rose by 59 per cent.
“The cost estimate is worse under Presidential campaigns, where CDD-Ghana estimated the cost of prosecuting a presidential campaign at US$100 million (at an exchange rate of GHC5.75 per $1- it cost GHC575 million).”
To reduce the partisanship around the issues of electoral integrity, accountability and transparency, the statement noted that CSOs in collaboration with other key stakeholders were mobilising the views of the citizenry with international standards and principles to develop a model Political Party Financing Law for the adoption by the government.
The statement, thus, among other things called for a law which defined the campaign period to forestall the four-year cycle of campaigning;
“As an international best practice, CSOs call for strong regulations, including the disclosure of funding sources, limits on foreign donations, and regulation on the abuse of incumbency to promote fairness in the use of state resources,” the statement added.
Per the statement, there was the need to use regulations to promote the participation of marginalised groups such as women, the youth and differently abled persons.
“Where state support is offered, it must be conditioned on the percentage of participation of women, the youth and differently abled persons,” it said.
GNA
Edited by Justina Paaga/Benjamin Mensah