Abolishing delegate system one of the surest ways of dealing with moneytocracy — Dr. Asah Asante

A Senior Political Science Lecturer at the University of Ghana, Dr. Kwame Asah Asante, has welcomed the Supreme Court's decision abolishing the delegate system in political party presidential and parliamentary primaries.

The Supreme Court, in a 5-2 majority decision delivered on Wednesday, July 29, ruled that political parties must allow all registered members in good standing to participate in the selection of presidential and parliamentary candidates, effectively ending the delegate system.

The landmark ruling has generated widespread public and political debate.

Supporters have been arguing that it broadens participation in internal party democracy, while critics have raised concerns about the cost of implementation.

Speaking on Accra-based JoyNews' The Pulse on Wednesday, August 5, Dr. Asah Asante said the ruling would help reduce the increasing influence of money in internal party elections.

"I support the Supreme Court ruling because this is one of the surest ways by which we can deal with some of the excesses relative to moneytocracy associated with political parties," he said.

According to him, the expanded participation of party members would make it more difficult for aspirants to influence a small group of delegates with money and other inducements.

Dr. Asah Asante also suggested that political parties could require members participating in the primaries to contribute financially towards the electoral process.

"Those who are coming into the register can be levied to pay for exercising their rights. I'm not sure it should be difficult for people who really want to tell the world that they are members of a certain political party," he stated.

He added that the new system has the potential to improve the quality of Ghana's democratic process by making political party primaries more transparent, inclusive and representative of the broader membership.