Money is indispensable in Ghanaian electoral campaigns. Without it, candidates cannot amplify their message to reach voters and it’s harder to motivate people to take interest and vote.
Ghana has held six elections since returning to multiparty democracy in 1992 with three turnovers of power including, in 2016, the first defeat of a sitting incumbent. But multiparty elections are costly affairs especially for aspiring and current parliamentarians as a cost of politics research proved.
According to a research conducted by the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD), and the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD) released in 2018, between 2012 and 2016 the cost of running for political office increased by 59%.
The report also indicates that each aspiring Ghanaian Member of Parliament spends about GHC390, 000 on average, to carry out successful campaigns at the party and constituency level.
In September 2020, Electoral Commission (EC) Chair, Jean Mensa announced Presidential candidates wishing to contest the 2020 general election will be required to pay a filing fee of ¢100,000 while parliamentary candidates will pay ¢10,000.
This represents a meteoric rise in the amounts demanded by the commission when compared to the previous election. In 2016, Presidential candidates filed nominations for ¢50,000.
Despite an outcry especially by the opposition, 17 prospective presidential candidates filed their nomination for the upcoming election consisting of 14 political parties and three independent candidates. It is noteworthy that 17 presidential aspirants also submitted nominations ahead of the previous elections in 2016.
WFD and CDD warned in the report that “if the cost of politics rises to unaffordable levels, the danger is that politics becomes the domain of the elite and wealthy”, and that the motivation and incentives of politicians especially MPs “move from serving the public to recovering their own investment.”
Another concern often expressed is that winners answer to their donors and those organizations who support them during elections.
However, decades of political science research demonstrates that the more a challenger spends, the more likely he or she is to win and it has been established that money matters more for challengers than it does for incumbents.
Also, money matters in the most competitive races especially those with high profile candidates. More money will be spent by the candidates and stakeholders who would like to influence the outcome of these races. It has proven to influence the behaviour of voters who ultimately decide whether politicians will stay in office.
In the same vein, other studies have concluded that money is necessary for a candidate to be competitive, but it doesn’t ensure success.
A lack of money can eliminate less capable candidates, but having money does not guarantee that a particular candidate’s message will resonate with the voters. This assertion is backed by WFD and CDD’s report which notes that “in the 2016 primaries, NDC candidates, perhaps hoping to benefit from the party’s incumbency, spent more overall” but the NPP won the majority seats come the end of the elections.
The WFD report concludes, “A parliament made up of an élite, particularly when it is perceived to be a wealthy, self-selecting and self-interested élite, is likely to struggle to maintain its legitimacy within wider society”
It is up to Ghanaians to decide who is elected for various positions and money plays a key role in influencing their choice. However, it is also important to decide if an influx in monies demanded and pumped into elections are healthy for democracy as the political landscape tips as the report suggests towards plutocracy.
