An aspiring Deputy General Secretary of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC), Anthony Kwame Nukpenu, has disclosed that aspirants seeking any elective position in the party’s Greater Accra Region require a minimum of GH¢3.5 million to prosecute their campaigns.

According to him, the growing monetisation of internal party elections has become a major threat to Ghana’s democratic process and must be addressed to ensure competent leadership.

Speaking in an interview on Rainbow Radio 87.5FM on Thursday, August 6, 2026, Nukpenu welcomed the recent Supreme Court ruling abolishing the delegates system in favour of a universal voting structure, under which all registered party members in good standing will vote in presidential and parliamentary primaries.

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He, however, argued that political parties should have been given more time to prepare for its implementation.

“Monetisation of our elections is a dirt on Ghana’s democracy. That is why I support the outcome of the court case, although I would have preferred they gave the political parties more time to implement the directives. The directive from the Supreme Court is good; it will deal with the inducements, monetisation, and vote-buying,” Nukpenu stated.

He stressed that the cost of contesting internal party elections, particularly in the Greater Accra Region, has become prohibitive, noting that huge financial investments do not necessarily guarantee victory.

“Contesting in any primaries in the Greater Accra Region, one would require GH¢3.5 million to run your campaign. That is for just the internal primaries, it excludes the main elections. We even have situations where, when people win the elections, they are unable to even print posters for the general elections because they spent everything they had on the internal primaries,” he explained.

The NDC stalwart further condemned the increasing practice of distributing expensive items to influence voters during internal elections, describing the trend as damaging to Ghana’s democracy.

He warned that failure to curb vote-buying and excessive campaign spending could create an avenue for individuals with questionable sources of wealth to gain political power.

“The profligacy of our elections, where people share fridges, freezers, and other things, is a disgrace to our democracy. For several years I have argued that if we don't deal with this, we will get drug lords and fraud boys as MPs because they have the money they can misuse. Let me repeat that with the current system we run, before you can win any primaries, the minimum you spend is GH¢3.5 million. It stretches candidates, and so they are unable to fund their national campaigns,” he added.

Nukpenu also called on political parties to strengthen their grassroots structures and intensify political education to ensure members understand their responsibilities under the new electoral arrangement.

“That is why, one way or another, I side with the Supreme Court. But we will need more time as political parties to build a sound base to be able to have a membership that really understands their role as party members. The consciousness is currently not there. We need members who will have the loyalty, dedication, and commitment in paying their dues,” he concluded.

ANAS/MA

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