The Supreme Court of Ghana has done what many thought was impossible.
Today, in a 5-2 majority decision, the apex court has upheld the suit brought against the delegate system used by political parties to elect their presidential and parliamentary candidates.
The suit was filed by three respected Ghanaian citizen – Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, Dr Nyaho Nyaho Tamakloe, and Dr Christine Amoako-Nuama.
With this judgment, the famous or infamous delegate system that has governed Ghana’s internal party politics since 1992 is now unconstitutional.
WHAT IS THE COCOA SEASON?
In Ghanaian politics, party primaries have been nicknamed “Cocoa Season.” It is the season when delegates become rich.
For years, to become an MP or President in Ghana, you did not need to convince the masses in your party. You only needed to convince about 500 to 6,000 delegates.
Aspiring candidates would buy TV sets, motorbikes, bags of rice, pay school fees, and share envelopes full of dollars to delegates. One delegate would collect from five candidates and vote for only one.
It was corruption legalized inside parties. The highest bidder won.
The Supreme Court says this is over.
IS IT GOOD FOR DEMOCRACY? YES, BUT…
This judgment is arguably the best thing to happen to Ghana’s democracy since 1992. Here is why:
1. True Democracy Will Begin Inside Parties: How can a party that elects its leaders with 2,000 people claim to be democratic to 33 million Ghanaians? The Court is saying if you want to lead Ghana, first let your own party members choose you. One party member, one vote. That is real democracy.
2. It Will Reduce Monetization: When you have to bribe 200,000 party members across the country, you cannot share envelopes. It is too expensive. You will be forced to sell ideas, not money. The era where a rich man with no message but with dollars can become an MP overnight may be over.
3. It Will Kill Godfathers: The delegate system created party godfathers who controlled delegates. If you offended a constituency chairman who controls 50 delegates, you are finished. With all party members voting, the power returns to the grassroots.
HOW WILL IT REDUCE CORRUPTION IN DELEGATE VOTING?
It reduces corruption by simply removing the small, controllable number.
Currently, in the NPP for example, about 200,000 delegates decide who becomes flagbearer for a party of over 2 million members. It is easy to camp delegates in hotels, feed them, and pay them.
But if 2 million people must vote in every polling station across Ghana, like a national election, how will you bribe them? How will you bus them? How will you camp them?
The cost of bribing will become higher than the cost of campaigning with ideas. Candidates will now need to do what they do in America – go on nationwide tours, debate policies, convince the ordinary party card holder.
The ordinary polling station executive who never saw a cedi during delegate season will now have power.
THE BIG QUESTION: WHO PAYS? – GARY NIMAKO MARFO ASKS
But there is a headache.
Reacting to the judgment, the NPP’s Director of Legal Affairs, Gary Nimako Marfo, has raised the most critical question after the celebration:
“Who will bear the cost of conducting party primaries after the Supreme Court declared the delegate system unconstitutional? Who will fund expanded presidential and parliamentary primaries?”
He has a point.
Under the delegate system, the NPP and NDC spent about GHS 5-10 million to conduct national primaries because voting was in only a few centers.
If every card-bearing member must now vote – over 2 million people in over 10,000 polling stations – the cost will be like conducting a national Electoral Commission election.
Parties will need ballot papers, biometric verification machines, security, EC officials in every corner of Ghana.
Where will the money come from? Will parties now charge GHS 500,000 filing fees to raise money, which will again bring back monetization through the back door?
Will the state fund internal party elections as is done in some countries? Will party members pay monthly dues seriously?
THE WAY FORWARD
The Supreme Court has opened the door. It is now up to Parliament and the political parties to walk through it.
The Court has not destroyed political parties. It has returned political parties to their owners – the ordinary members.
The end of Cocoa Season is the beginning of real internal democracy.
Alexander Afriyie, supervising editor, ghanacrimereport.com and ghanatalk.com