Former National Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Peter Mac Manu, has called for the regulation of campaign financing in Ghana, stressing that the normalization of political monetization undermines democracy.
Speaking at a dialogue on National Elections in Ghana, Mac Manu highlighted how the financial demands of political campaigns discourage capable individuals from participating. “If you spend so much money, you are dividing some of your qualified citizens who, because of money, cannot compete in elections and that should not be the case. But I have heard on various platforms for the last 20 years or so that there is a need for reform, then we will put it on the back burner,” he said.
He continued, “Then, when elections are approaching, we bring it to the front burner, where we talk about it but never act on it. I think this is something as a country, we must be bold and things that are not going well for us, which are going to stifle our democracy, we must put a stop to it.”
Mac Manu also suggested that the Electoral Commission should establish an enforcement unit to oversee the financial accounts of political parties. “The EC should take seriously the establishment of an enforcement unit which would include a legal advisory support to enforce laws regarding the conditions for maintaining a registered political party and accounting for political party campaign finances,” he opined.
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