History has been made. In a landmark 5-2 majority decision, the Supreme Court of Ghana has abolished the delegates system in the presidential and parliamentary primaries of all political parties in Ghana.
The Court has simply said what many Ghanaians have been whispering for years: that the delegates system is unconstitutional, monetized, undemocratic, and a breeding ground for vote-buying.
This is not just a legal victory. It is a democratic revolution. But this revolution will die if we do not take the next bold step.
Now that the delegates system is dead, *the State must take over the expense of presidential and parliamentary primaries in order to deepen democracy in Ghana.*
WHAT THE SUPREME COURT SAID
By a 5-2 majority, the apex court held that choosing a presidential or parliamentary candidate through a few thousand hand-picked delegates violates the spirit of Article 55 of the 1992 Constitution which says political parties must be democratic.
How can you call it democracy when 1,500 delegates decide for 200,000 party members? How can you call it democracy when one constituency has over 100,000 party sympathizers but only 600 delegates vote to choose their MP?
The Court has abolished that system. From now on, every card-bearing member of a political party in good standing qualifies to vote in primaries. One member, one vote. Universal suffrage inside the parties.
This is the right decision. But it comes with a huge cost.
THE COST OF TRUE DEMOCRACY IS TOO HEAVY FOR PARTIES ALONE
Let us be honest. The delegates system survived because it was cheap for parties.
To organize primaries for 275 constituencies and for presidential, you needed to rent only a small school park, print 1,000 ballot papers, and give delegates transport and food. It was easy to buy votes because the numbers were small.
Now, with universal suffrage, if NPP has 2 million members and NDC has 2.5 million members, to conduct primaries you need to print millions of ballot papers, deploy Electoral Commission officials to every electoral area, provide security, and transport materials to over 30,000 polling stations.
No political party in Ghana can afford that without selling the party to moneybags.
If we leave the cost to the parties, only the richest businessman in the party will win. The parties will collapse or go back to secretly using money to influence the expanded register. The monetization we sought to cure will become worse.
That is why the state must step in.
WHY THE STATE MUST PAY – FOUR STRONG REASONS
1. Political Parties Are Public Institutions Under the Constitution
Article 55 says political parties exist to shape the political will of the people. They are not private clubs like keep-fit clubs. The President and MPs who govern Ghana all come from political parties. If the State funds the general election through the EC, why should it not fund the election that produces the people who contest the general election? Party primaries are the first round of national elections.
2. To Deepen Democracy and End Vote-Buying
Today, an MP aspirant needs GHS 2,000 per delegate. That is why after winning, he goes to Parliament to look for money to recoup. He does not go to make laws.
If the state funds primaries and the EC conducts it like a national election, no aspirant will pay any delegate. The vote will be free. The best candidate, not the richest, will win. That is how we deepen democracy.
3. To Increase Participation and Reduce Apathy
When only delegates vote, 95% of party members feel useless. They are used only to shout slogans and paste posters. That is why party membership is dying among the youth.
If every member knows his vote counts in choosing the next President or MP, party activism will grow. People will willingly pay dues because they have a voice.
4. Ghana Already Has Precedent
We fund the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC). We fund political parties through state support in other democracies. In Nigeria, South Africa, and even in the UK, the state subsidizes internal party democracy because it knows weak parties produce weak democracy.
Ghana cannot be an exception.
HOW IT SHOULD WORK
The state should not give cash to party executives to organize primaries. That will be stolen.
The model should be this:
The Electoral Commission of Ghana should be mandated by law to conduct all presidential and parliamentary primaries for all registered political parties that meet a threshold, just as it conducts general elections.
Government should create a Political Primaries Fund under the Consolidated Fund, approved by Parliament.
The EC will use that fund to print ballots, deploy staff, and ensure one member one vote in all 275 constituencies on the same day.
Parties will submit their verified membership register 90 days before primaries for EC to audit. No party can add ghost names at the last minute.
The Supreme Court has done its part by a courageous 5-2 decision. It has killed the delegates system that made our democracy the property of the highest bidder.
But the Court cannot fund democracy. That is the job of the State.
If we want honest MPs, if we want competent Presidents chosen by the people and not by a few rich delegates, then Ghana must be ready to pay for it.
Democracy is expensive, but vote-buying is more expensive. A bought delegate today becomes a corrupt MP tomorrow who sells our bauxite and gold for peanuts.
Let the state take the expense of primaries. That is the only way to protect the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling and to truly deepen democracy in Ghana.
Alexander Afriyie, supervising editor, ghanacrimereport.com and ghanatalk.com