State should fund internal party elections to reduce corruption — Asiedu Nketiah

National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, has called for state funding of internal political party elections, arguing that public financing would help curb corruption and strengthen Ghana's democratic system.

Speaking on Ambassador TV in an interview, Mr Asiedu Nketiah said the enormous cost of organising one-member-one-vote primaries has discouraged political parties from fully embracing broader participation in their internal electoral processes.

He disclosed that the NDC spent approximately GH¢14 million when it piloted the one-member-one-vote system in 2014.

“We spent about 14 million cedis,” he said.

According to him, the cost of printing ballot papers, procuring election materials, deploying election officials and agents, and meeting other logistical demands placed a significant financial burden on the party.

To address the challenge, Mr Asiedu Nketiah proposed that the Electoral Commission be adequately resourced to conduct internal party elections on behalf of political parties.

“If this will help the country, then government should have a budget for the Electoral Commission to ensure political parties run free and fair internal elections,” he stated.

He argued that investing public funds in transparent and credible internal party elections would reduce opportunities for corruption, improve internal democracy within political parties and ultimately strengthen the country's democratic governance.