The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has rejected the Supreme Court of Ghana’s decision striking down the delegate system for internal party elections, warning that the ruling could significantly increase the cost of organising party primaries.
The NPP’s Director of Elections, Evans Nimako, argued that the delegate system is an important pillar of Ghana’s democratic process and contributes to the development of strong political parties.
“This issue of the judgment by the Supreme Court is something that the New Patriotic Party did not really support because we knew that if you want to ensure the growth of democracy, you need to have viable political parties. And the issue of delegateship is part of democracy,” he said.
Mr. Nimako warned that abolishing the delegate system would place a heavy financial burden on political parties by requiring broader participation in internal elections.
“In the face of it, this is going to be a huge burden on political parties,” he stressed.
He said the ruling has reignited discussions on state funding for political parties, noting that political parties represented in Parliament had previously engaged the Institute of Economic Affairs on proposals for public financing.
However, he cautioned that any move toward state funding must be backed by a comprehensive legal framework to prevent the indiscriminate formation of political parties.
“The other twist is that if you do not have the right legal framework, you are likely to open the floodgates and allow the creation and formation of political parties,” he said.
Mr. Nimako also called for a careful examination of the Supreme Court’s reasoning, questioning whether the judgment effectively addresses the issues it seeks to resolve.
“The question that we need to ask is, what does the judgment seek to kill? It is important for us to assess the judgment and follow the reasoning of the Supreme Court,” he stated.
Mr. Nimako said public funding could become necessary if political parties are required to conduct nationwide internal elections, but insisted that strong legal safeguards must first be established.
