Ghanaian pollster, Mussa Dankwah, has questioned the timing of criticism from some National Democratic Congress (NDC) figures following the Supreme Court’s decision declaring the political party delegate system unconstitutional, asking why they had remained silent before the judgment.

In a social media post reacting to the ruling, Dankwah suggested that some politicians only began raising concerns after the court’s decision despite the long-standing debate over the delegate system.

“Those NDC figures opposed to the SC decision, why did they stay silent all this while? Have they just realised the impact of what has just happened?” he asked.

The Supreme Court, in a 5-2 majority decision, ruled that the delegate system used by political parties to elect presidential and parliamentary candidates is unconstitutional. The court directed political parties to adopt a “one member, one vote” system and gave them one year to comply with the ruling.

Dankwah also criticised what he described as the tendency of politicians to preserve existing systems rather than pursue reforms that could make internal elections more efficient.

“Why do politicians always want to preserve the status quo? Instead of thinking outside the box on how to reduce cost, they have resorted to the default that it means more money,” he said.

He argued that political parties should use the transition period to redesign how they engage members instead of assuming that implementing the ruling would simply require expanding the current delegate model.

According to him, advances in communication technology make it unnecessary for political parties to continue relying heavily on physical engagements.

“This was what Kwame Nkrumah did in the 1950s, when fewer people had radio and TV sets. We can’t continue with the same approach in this 21st century,” Dankwah stated.

He suggested that parties organise fewer but larger campaign events while making greater use of television and radio to communicate with members across the country.

Dankwah expressed confidence that governance and democracy experts, together with other stakeholders, would develop practical measures to implement the Supreme Court’s directive.

“We should just be patient. I am sure governance and democratic experts and other stakeholders will fashion out something for us so we fully realise the benefit of the SC ruling and reduce monicracy in our politics,” he said.