‘Money-cracy’: Big slur on Ghana’s democratic credentials
By Prof. Samuel Lartey
Introduction
Money plays a crucial role in the politics of any country, and Ghana is no exception. From campaign financing to vote-buying, money has become a powerful tool that influences political outcomes, shapes governance, and determines the country’s socio-economic future.
In Ghana, where political contests are fiercely competitive, the role of money in politics has evolved into a double-edged sword—facilitating democracy on the one hand and threatening its integrity on the other.
This article delves into the role of money in Ghanaian politics, providing insights through facts, figures, dates, and financial data.
Historical Context
Since the dawn of the Fourth Republic in 1992, Ghana has seen successive general elections every four years. The return to constitutional rule paved the way for democratic processes, and with it came the introduction of modern political campaign structures.
However, even as political parties organized, money began to assume an outsized role in political engagements. Political financing quickly became a dominant theme in elections, with parties and candidates needing significant financial resources to organize campaigns, hire media coverage, and mobilize supporters.
In the 1992 elections, the cost of running a national campaign was relatively modest compared to today. At the time, Ghana’s political landscape was less media-centric, with fewer campaign rallies and media advertising.
However, as democracy deepened and electoral competition intensified, the financial demands escalated significantly. By the 2012 and 2016 elections, political campaign budgets had ballooned to record levels.
Campaign Financing and Its Impact
Money in Ghanaian politics is largely spent on two key areas: campaign financing and electioneering activities. Political parties and candidates require funds to organize rallies, transport supporters, pay for advertisements, and engage in other forms of voter mobilization.
According to estimates from the Center for Democratic Development (CDD), the cost of running for president in Ghana has risen to an astronomical GHC 500 million in recent years. Candidates for parliamentary seats, on the other hand, need between GHC500,000 and GHC1 million to contest competitive constituencies.
In the 2020 general elections, political parties collectively spent over GHC 500 million on campaigns alone, with a significant portion of these funds coming from private donations, business interests, and sometimes questionable sources.
The presidential campaigns of the two major political parties, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC), accounted for the majority of this spending, with each spending roughly GHC200 million during the campaign period. These figures dwarf what was spent in 2008 when campaign expenditures hovered around GHC50 million per party.
The rise in campaign financing has also led to greater financial involvement from interest groups, businesses, and lobbyists. Business interests often contribute large sums of money to campaigns with the expectation of future political favors.
This has fostered a system of political patronage where political winners reward their financial backers with contracts, appointments, and other forms of government largesse. In this sense, money has a direct influence on governance, as policymakers are sometimes beholden to the interests of their financiers rather than the electorate.
Vote-Buying: A Growing Concern
One of the most concerning roles of money in Ghanaian politics is vote-buying. Vote-buying, where money or gifts are exchanged for votes, has become rampant, especially in closely contested elections. Research conducted by the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) revealed that in the 2020 general elections, a significant number of voters admitted to having received money or gifts in exchange for their vote.
The study estimated that close to 15% of voters across the country were approached with offers of money or material goods in return for their votes. These payments ranged from GHC50 to GHC200 per voter, depending on the constituency’s competitiveness.
In some instances, political parties and candidates employ indirect methods of vote-buying, such as providing essential goods and services like food, clothing, and scholarships to voters in economically deprived areas.
This practice is not limited to parliamentary or presidential elections; it extends to party primaries, where aspirants bribe party delegates with large sums of money to secure their nominations. In 2020, some parliamentary aspirants reportedly spent up to GHC1 million on bribing delegates, underscoring the extent to which money has infiltrated the selection process.
The Role of Political Party Funding
Ghana’s political parties are heavily reliant on external funding. Party membership dues and public fundraising efforts provide only a fraction of the required resources. This has led political parties to seek funding from wealthy individuals, businesses, and foreign donors, creating a political financing model that is highly opaque.
The lack of transparency in party financing has raised concerns about the potential for corruption and the undue influence of money on political decision-making.
According to the Political Parties Act, 2000 (Act 574), political parties in Ghana are required to submit audited accounts to the Electoral Commission. However, many parties fail to comply with this legal requirement, making it difficult to track the sources and amounts of funding they receive.
This opacity allows parties to circumvent campaign finance laws and leaves the door open to illicit funding sources. Calls for reform to enhance the transparency and accountability of party financing have gained momentum in recent years, with civil society organizations advocating for state funding of political parties as a way to reduce reliance on private donations.
Financial Implications
The financial burden of elections on candidates and political parties has grown exponentially over the past few decades. A breakdown of key financial data includes:
- 2016 Presidential Election:
The NPP and NDC reportedly spent a combined GHC 1 billion in the 2016 elections. Each party spent around GHC 200 million on presidential campaigns alone, with significant portions allocated to media advertisements, rallies, and logistics.
- 2020 General Election:
The total cost of running an effective national campaign for the presidency reached around GHC300 million for each major political party. In addition, parliamentary aspirants were estimated to spend between GHC500,000 and GHC1 million on their campaigns, depending on the competitiveness of their constituencies.
- Vote-Buying:
In competitive constituencies, political parties and candidates were reported to spend an average of GHC100 to GHC200 per voter in attempts to secure votes during the 2020 general elections.
- Cost of Running for Parliament:
CDD-Ghana estimates that it costs at least GHC 500,000 to mount a serious parliamentary campaign in Ghana, with costs sometimes rising as high as GHC1 million in closely contested constituencies.
Conclusion
Money undeniably plays a central role in Ghanaian politics, influencing who gets elected, how campaigns are run, and the nature of governance post-election. While money is essential for political mobilization, its pervasive influence, particularly through campaign financing and vote-buying, poses significant challenges to the integrity of Ghana’s democratic process.
The growing financial demands of political campaigns, coupled with opaque party financing and increasing vote-buying practices, have created an uneven playing field that often sidelines competent but financially disadvantaged candidates.
To safeguard the country’s democracy, there is an urgent need for electoral and political finance reforms. Strengthening the enforcement of campaign finance laws, ensuring transparency in political party funding, and reducing the cost of elections can help mitigate the negative impact of money in politics. In the long term, efforts to build a more transparent and accountable political financing system will be crucial to preserving the integrity of Ghana’s democracy and ensuring that money does not undermine the will of the people.
