By Solomon Gumah
Tamale, Aug 29, GNA – The Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) has recommended comprehensive reforms to Ghana’s political finance regime to promote transparency and accountability in political party and campaign financing.
The Centre is proposing, among other measures, a legally defined campaign period, limits on political contributions and campaign expenditure, mandatory disclosure and verification of donors, and stronger institutional oversight of political financing.
Mr Joseph Oti Frimpong, Programmes Officer at CDD-Ghana, who was making a presentation on the CDD Ghana’s draft model political finance law, said the reforms were necessary to address significant gaps in Ghana’s existing political finance architecture and curb the growing monetisation and high cost of politics.
He was speaking at a media workshop in Tamale on regulating political party financing in Ghana, organised by CDD-Ghana with support from the British High Commission.
The workshop brought together journalists from selected print, broadcast, and online media organizations and featured expert presentations, interactive discussions on political party financing, and the proposed reforms.
Mr Frimpong said one of the key reforms should be the introduction of legislation to clearly define the campaign period, providing a basis for monitoring and regulating financial activities associated with elections.
He also recommended that candidates be required to submit comprehensive financial reports detailing contributions and donations received for their electoral campaigns.
He said Ghana should also consider adopting a mixed model of political financing involving both private and state funding to create a more equitable environment for political participation.
He explained that state funding could be conditioned on the promotion of democratic objectives including measures to increase the participation of marginalised groups such as women, youth and persons with disabilities.
Mr Frimpong also recommended mandatory verification of the identities of political donors or disclosure of donors for contributions above a stipulated threshold.
He said legislation must expressly prohibit political parties and candidates from financing electoral campaigns with illicit or unlawful funds, adding stronger safeguards were required to prevent criminal proceeds from entering the political system.
Mr Frimpong said the proposed reforms should also address the high cost of filing fees and intra-party elections, which he said had contributed significantly to the monetisation of politics.
He recommended extending the criminalisation of vote buying, currently applicable to national elections and referenda, to intra-party elections to discourage financial inducements during internal party contests.
Mr Frimpong said the existing framework also did not adequately require verification of donors’ identities or disclosure of donors while enforcement of constitutional requirements on the publication of political party accounts and submission of returns remained a challenge.
He identified another gap in the existing framework as the prohibition against political parties receiving funding from non-citizens, which did not similarly apply to individual candidates.
Dr Kojo Pumpuni Asante, Director of Policy Engagement and Partnerships at CDD-Ghana said the Center’s proposed reforms formed part of efforts to strengthen Ghana’s democratic institutions and improve accountability in political financing.
He said CDD-Ghana, with support from the British High Commission, had developed a Draft Model Political Finance Law to provide a framework for addressing the identified gaps.
He said the media had a critical role in promoting transparency and accountability and therefore needed adequate knowledge of political parties and campaign financing to effectively scrutinise the process.
The workshop, therefore, provided journalists with an overview of the current state of political party and campaign financing in Ghana, the challenges in the existing legal and regulatory framework, and the proposed reforms contained in the Draft Model Political Finance Law.
It also introduced participants to the Government’s position on the Constitutional Review Commission’s recommendations on political financing and provided an opportunity for journalists to interrogate the proposed regulatory measures.
GNA
Edited by Eric K Amoh/Benjamin Mensah
Reporter: Solomon Gumah
Reporter’s email address: [email protected]