Ghana’s Supreme Court has explained that although expanding political party primaries to all registered members will not eliminate money politics, the change will make electoral corruption far more difficult to sustain.
The clarification is contained in the court’s judgment in the case Prof. Frimpong-Boateng & 2 Others v NPP & 4 Others, where a seven-member panel ruled by a 5-2 majority that the delegates system used by political parties to elect presidential and parliamentary candidates is inconsistent with the Constitution.
The panel was made up of Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, Justice Gabriel Scott Pwamang, Justice Issifu Omoro Tanko Amadu, Justice Samuel Kwame Adibu-Asiedu, Justice Senyo Dzamefe, Justice Ernest Yao Gaewu and Justice George Kingsley Koomson.
Deputy Attorney General Justice Srem-Sai later shared portions of the judgement on Facebook.
In the ruling, Chief Justice Baffoe-Bonnie acknowledged that widening participation in party primaries is not a perfect solution to vote buying. According to him, corruption often changes its methods rather than disappearing entirely.
However, he stressed that constitutional decisions aim to choose the approach that best protects democratic principles, even if no option is flawless.
The court observed that the current delegate system concentrates electoral power in the hands of a limited number of people, making it easier for candidates to influence outcomes through financial inducements.
Because delegates are few and easily identifiable, their votes become more valuable and easier to target.
By contrast, allowing thousands of registered party members to vote in primaries spreads political influence across a much larger electorate.
While this may increase the cost and complexity of campaigning, it also makes it significantly more difficult for candidates to sway elections through payments to a small group of individuals.
The Chief Justice further noted that the central constitutional issue was not whether corruption would disappear entirely, but whether a broader voting system better promotes the democratic ideals enshrined in Ghana’s Constitution.
The judgement concludes that Ghana’s democratic development now demands a more inclusive model of internal party elections.
As a result, political parties are required to replace the delegate system with broader participation by their registered members in electing party executives and selecting parliamentary and presidential candidates.
