5 NPP Aspirants Spent $5m On 'unofficial' campaign

The election campaign for the NPP’s 2008 presidential candidate offers the party a tremendously valuable opportunity to engage and connect with its membership and the public at large, revitalising the party’s base and drawing in new support.
If this to happen it is vital, however, that the campaign is seen to be fair and honest in order to enhance the party’s image rather than tarnish it. We must be stringent to ensure that there is no validity to accusations that the flagbearer position is up for sale to the highest bidder. Not only would this squander the opportunity for an important debate on the future policy direction of the party, but it would also risk undermining public faith in the entire political system.
Democratic politics is an expensive business. There is little to be gained from either denying or decrying this fact. Seeking public opinions and support is financially more expensive than ignoring both, but it is worth the money. We should embrace and accept this fact as it is reflective of the inclusive, popular basis of democracy itself. However, it is incumbent on all within the political system to ensure that the money spent in campaigns has the result of enhancing democratic engagement and accountability rather than diminishing it. Campaign expenditure should be aimed at taking the candidates’ message to the people, thus enabling party members to make a better informed decision on who should fight the next presidential election in their name. It should foster discussion about policies and future direction, and increase genuine political engagement, rather than simply buying support.
Regrettably, in the absence of ideological debate, the (P)NDC, while in the past set a precedent in which money was the determining factor in making the party attract support and in maintaining loyalty to the party.
There are some worrying signs that the NPP has not managed to avoid this trend and is even pushing it to perverse levels, especially where internal contests are concerned. Although the flagbearer contest is yet to officially start, there are some 19 or so candidates already in the field. Our estimates show, of these five have already spent over $1milion on a campaign that technically doesn’t even exist. One aspirant is even known to have given ¢200,000 each to polling station chairmen. There are over 22,000 polling stations in Ghana. This is regrettable as it lays the process open to charges of corruption and fraud, which threatens not just any one political party, but the health of our entire political system.
In order for this risk to be allayed, all actors need to examine their behaviour and find ways to ensure transparency and fairness in campaign expenditure.
Firstly, candidates should exercise judgement and common sense in deciding how, where and why they spent their money. Uppermost in these decisions should be the intention to spend money in an open and honest way as a means of enhancing the quality of the campaign and increasing public engagement with it.
Secondly, the political parties – in this case the NPP – should themselves examine the rules and regulations it lays down for expenditure on campaigns for internal positions such as that of presidential candidate and parliamentary primaries . Whilst there are legitimate reasons for not yet officially commencing the NPP flagbearer campaign, party officials need to face the reality that in effect the campaign has already kicked off, and as a result there is a need for them to put in place provisions to govern the rules of the game at this preliminary stage. Denying that there is a campaign won’t solve the problem: by forcing it underground it will instead make the funding problem even more corrosive.
Thirdly, government (particularly Parliament) should look at how it can work with civil society organisations like the Centre for Democratic Development and the Institute for Economic Affairs, as well as bodies like the Electoral Commission and Inter-Party Advisory Committee, to ensure that this kind of high-profile campaign strengthens, rather than undermines, our democracy. Measures that could help in achieving this include caps on spending at various stages, regulations on sources of funding, and a requirement to declare both from where money has been received and where it has been spent. By increasing the transparency of the process, public concern about possible corruption can be assuaged.
There is a great deal of reason to be optimistic about the wider impact of the NPP flagbearer contest on both the party’s political fortunes and public engagement with politics, not least because the NPP has shown in past contests that its heart and soul cannot be bought. But it is time to ensure that there are structures in place to ensure that it is clearly visible to all within Ghana that political offices are not for sale.