During Ghana’s 2024 election season, it was common to see displays of political campaigning in all forms. From advertisements on radio and TV to giant billboards promoting political candidates, it was hard to escape the barrage of electoral campaigns.
In a year where Ghana faced high inflation and high costs of goods and services, political parties, especially the incumbents, seemingly spent unabated on their campaigns to get voter’s attention.
Image Credit: Ghanaian Times
But how were politicians funding these lavish campaigns? Who was ensuring that incumbents were not abusing state resources to fund their campaign efforts at the expense of the Ghanaian taxpayer? And how did officials ensure no illicit money was used for political campaigns?
The High Costs and Expenses Of Election Campaigns
The cost of elections in Ghana has gotten to a critical juncture. The Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) published a survey report in 2017, in which they estimated that the average cost of a political candidate competing in primary and national elections was estimated at GHC 389,803.
A second research conducted in 2021 indicated that election costs had risen and Members of Parliament (MP) would need at least GHC 4 million for their parliamentary elections.
A sitting MP typically earns GHC 348,000 annually, which averages to about GHC 29,000 a month (excluding income tax).
According to the current MP from Ningo Pramprah, the net pay for MPs comes up to GHC 11,000 after payment of fees and taxes.
With the costly amount of election campaigning and the meager pay of politicians, questions arise on how MPs can afford expenses when it comes to parliamentary campaigns.
Is it just party funds? Self-funding? Or other means which might not be by the book.
For presidential candidates, the cost of election campaigns is much higher. The CDD-Ghana revealed in 2021 that the cost of a presidential election campaign would be at least $100 million (or GHC 1.2 Billion).
Most costs go into expenses including radio and TV advertisements, billboard adverts, hiring of election staff, and other election-related material.
To promote transparency, Ghana enacted laws to hold political parties and candidates accountable by disclosing the source of their funds, especially during election seasons.
Unfortunately, the law appears to be having minimal effect.
So far, none of Ghana’s political parties adhere to the Political Parties Act when it comes to submission of their source of funding.
Is Ghana’s Electoral Commission a Watchdog With No Teeth?
In jurisdictions like the United States, election financing is more transparent. Campaign finance laws across different states require political candidates and groups to file periodic reports disclosing the money they raise and spend.
The US Federal Election Commission also ensures transparency by maintaining a database and publishing information about campaigns and donors on its website.
In 2000, Ghana’s Parliament passed the “Political Parties Act” (Act 574) which mandates political parties to disclose their sources of funding.
According to Section 21 of the act:
“A political party shall, within six months from 31st December of each year, file with the Commission:
a. a return in the form specified by the commission indicating:
i. the state of its accounts
ii. the sources of its funds
iii. membership dues paid
iv. contributions or donations in kind”
Ghana’s Electoral Commission (EC) is responsible for enforcing this act. They are to ensure that political parties submit their annual audited accounts detailing their sources of funding, income, expenditure, assets, and liabilities.
So far, none of Ghana’s political parties adhere to the Act when it comes to submission of their source of funding.
In an interview with CDD Ghana, the EC’s former Director of Elections, Mr. Albert Arhin, attributed the Commission’s inability to enforce the campaign financing regulations to the lack of institutional capacity and political will.
Who is funding political parties and their election campaigns?
With the ever-increasing costs of electoral campaigns, how are political parties able to raise and spend large amounts during elections?
Most political parties source funds from party membership fees, donations from supporters, fundraising events, and crowdfunding.
The data on political party membership is scarce but according to a 2015 news article, the secretary for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) stated that there were about 2 million registered members nationwide.
Party members are expected to pay monthly dues of GHC 2 and GHC10 as filing fees. But there is no guarantee of regular payment of these fees and the funds raised from membership dues would not be enough for national campaigns for elections.
Currently, wealthy party individuals and businessmen tend to be major financiers of political parties and their campaigns. With that much influence, it raises issues including conflict of interest and cronyism if their party gets elected into power.
Jospong Group, a collection of companies headed by the controversial CEO Joseph Siaw Agyepong, has been regularly featured in investigative reports for securing large government contracts and aligning itself with whichever political party comes to power.
The group has secured several contracts over the years, prompting allegations of irregularities in procurement processes.
The group has denied allegations of corruption in public statements to the media.
Abuse of State Resources
Political parties in power have been known to abuse state resources during election seasons. In 2021, Chief Observer Javier Nart, a Member of the European Parliament from Spain, noted in his report during the most recent election about the misuse of state resources and vote buying.
“…shortcomings already identified by previous EU election observation missions remain, such as the misuse of state resources, the abuse of incumbency, vote-buying and unregulated campaign finances.” he noted in a public statement.
Parties in power have also been known to accept gifts and favors in election years which are in turn rewarded with future contracts if the ruling party is elected to serve another term.
In a CDD report, in the lead-up to the 2012 election, President John Mahama received a 2010 Ford Expedition vehicle valued at $100,000 from a contractor in Burkina Faso.
Martin Amidu, the former Attorney General, raised concerns about the gift, accusing the President of campaign financing breaches. He alleged the Ford Expedition vehicle had been used to illegally smuggle undisclosed amounts of money into the country to fund the President’s campaign.
The President denied these allegations.
Subsequently, in 2014, the Burkina Faso contractor was awarded a $650,000 contract to construct a security wall at Ghana’s embassy in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso.
Can Ghana get rid of “dirty” money in election campaigns?
While political parties rely on a mix of membership dues, private donations, and informal contributions for their campaigns, the lack of robust enforcement mechanisms and financial disclosures leaves much of election campaign funding shrouded in secrecy.
To enforce transparency in election financing campaigns, Ghana’s parliament needs to equip the Electoral Commission with more utilities and tools to be more effective in their mandate of enforcing the Political Parties Act.
Parliament might also need to amend current legislation to penalise political parties who fail to submit audited reports of their sources of financing to the EC.
With Ghana’s economy still in recovery and the growing distrust of government and politicians by Ghanaians, it’s imperative now more than ever to shine a light on election financing in Ghana.
