The Centre for Democratic Development, CCD, has called on Ghanaian journalists to take a lead role in checking monetized politics, warning that the lack of spending limits & public funding has reduced elections to contests where “the highest bidder wins.”
Speaking at a media engagement in Kumasi on Wednesday, Lecturer & Legal practitioner, Mr. Zakaria Tanko Musah, said the cost of contesting a parliamentary seat has risen 500% in 12 years, from GH₵150,000 in 2012 to GH₵750,000 in 2024. Citing CCD research, he noted that 71% of Ghanaians now see elections as too monetized — a situation fueling vote buying, state capture, & the exclusion of youth from politics.
Mr. Tanko Musah described the Political Parties Act, 2000 (Act 574) as “unfit for purpose” because it regulates parties & not candidates, even though 70% of campaign funds go to individuals. He outlined 5 key gaps: no spending caps, no real-time disclosure of donors, the EC’s inability to track contributions, absence of an independent regulator, & reports filed only after elections. He said these loopholes create an opaque system open to abuse and foreign money.
CCD also presented two cases for media investigation. The first is the “Primaries Cash” scandal, where delegates in the NPP Presidential Primaries 2023-24 & NDC Ayawaso East 2024 allegedly received GH₵200 to GH₵1,000 each — a matter the OSP is probing. The second is “Abuse of Incumbency” in Sekondi, where 50 outboard motors worth GH₵15,000 each, totaling GH₵750,000, were distributed to fisherfolk during 2020 & 2024 presidential tours. CCD said this violated Article 55(11) by using taxpayer money for partisan gain.
To address the problem, CCD outlined a 5-point mandate for the media: investigate, monitor, educate, set the agenda for reform, & provide a platform for accountability institutions. The organization urged media houses to support the CDD Model Bill, which proposes a GH₵2M cap for presidential campaigns & real-time disclosure, & to demand that the EC publish party accounts within 30 days. It also called for quarterly declaration of political ad revenue, a monthly campaign finance tracker from 2026 to 2028, and the use of the RTI Act. Closing with a quote from CHRAJ — “Media is guardian of electoral integrity” — Mr. Musah asked: “Will we let elections go on sale?”
Story by: Kwame Banahene Owusu-Adjei