NPP says Supreme Court ruling on party delegates could raise cost of internal elections

Ghana's main opposition party, the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has criticised a Supreme Court ruling that struck down the delegate system for internal party elections, warning that the decision could significantly increase the cost of selecting party candidates.

The party says the judgment could also strengthen the case for introducing state funding for political parties if they are required to organise elections involving all members rather than selected delegates.

Speaking to Joy FM on Wednesday, the NPP's Director of Elections, Evans Nimako, said the party did not support the ruling because it believed the delegate system played an important role in strengthening internal democracy.

"The issue of delegateship is part of democracy," he said, arguing that political parties needed practical systems that enabled them to organise internal elections efficiently.

The Supreme Court recently ruled that political parties cannot restrict the election of their executives and parliamentary candidates to delegates alone, a decision that could require broader participation by party members in future internal polls.

Mr Nimako said such a change would place a heavy financial burden on political parties, particularly those with nationwide membership.

"In the face of it, this is going to be a huge burden on political parties," he said.

Calls for state funding

The ruling has renewed debate over whether the state should contribute to the cost of internal party elections.

Mr Nimako said discussions on public financing had been held previously between political parties represented in Parliament and policy groups, but argued that any move towards state funding would require a robust legal framework.

Without clear safeguards, he warned, public financing could encourage the creation of political parties solely to access state funds.

He said political stakeholders should also study the court's reasoning carefully to determine whether the judgment addresses the problems it was intended to solve.

The comments come after the chairman of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, revealed that his party spent about GH¢40m on its 2024 internal elections and argued that the state should help finance future party primaries.

The Supreme Court's decision is expected to have far-reaching implications for how Ghana's political parties organise internal elections and select candidates ahead of future national polls.