The Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII) has announced its intention to introduce legislation regulating campaign finance, amid growing concerns about electoral malpractices, including vote buying, which have marred recent elections.
Mary Addah, Executive Secretary of the GII, emphasized the crucial need to tackle this issue, pinpointing it as a key driver of corruption-related offenses, and urged a collective effort to combat these practices, fostering a collaborative approach to promote transparency and accountability.
Madam Mary Addah made these remarks during the third day of the 14th Commonwealth Conference for Heads of Anti-Corruption Agencies in Africa held in Accra on Wednesday.
“We have been monitoring the abuse of incumbency and electoral corruption over the years since 2008. This is a subject we focus on, especially during elections. We are currently collaborating to propose a bill for regulating campaign financing, which is a significant factor driving corruption in Ghana.”
Mary Addah
Furthermore, Mary Addah observed that Ghana’s elections have become increasingly expensive, particularly since citizens have begun demanding more financial contributions from politicians during election seasons, leading to a culture of extortion and heightened financial expectations.
The GII Executive Secretary, also called for the introduction of a robust asset declaration system, requiring politicians to disclose their assets before running for public office, as a vital measure to tackle corruption and promote transparency among public officeholders.
Moreover, the GII noted that financing political campaigns had been a major contributor to corruption in the country, emphasizing that proper regulation of political campaign financing could gain the country numerous resources.
The GII further indicated that research from the Centre for Democratic Development- Ghana (CDD) indicates that it costs about $300,000.00 to win a parliamentary seat, emphasizing that the cost is getting higher.
As such, the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII) emphasized that campaign financing must be made transparent, so the public is aware of the sources of funding for political parties and their presidential and parliamentary candidates, enabling informed decision-making and accountability.
Political Campaigns, Source of Corruption
While financing political campaigns is a crucial aspect of democratic elections, it is also a source of corruption in Ghana as the country’s political campaign financing system is largely unregulated, which creates an environment conducive to corruption.
Political parties and candidates are not required to disclose the sources of their funding, which makes it difficult to trace the source of donations. This secrecy creates an environment where illegal or unethical funding sources can be used to finance political campaigns.
Accordingly, the GII had directed the Electoral Commission to thoroughly scrutinize the audited accounts of political parties, their financiers, and where the funds are being generated.
Moreover, the reliance on private funding sources creates a situation where politicians are beholden to their donors.
This can lead to influence peddling, where donors expect favors or influence in return for their contributions. This can result in politicians prioritizing the interests of their donors over the public interest, creating a conflict of interest.
According to the GII, the lack of regulation in campaign financing creates an opportunity for illicit funding sources to be used.
For example, drug traffickers or fraudsters may use campaign donations to launder their illegal proceeds or to gain influence over politicians.
Furthermore, due to a lack of regulations on campaign financing, politicians engage in vote-buying which undermines the integrity of the electoral process.
As such, the lack of public funding for political parties creates an uneven playing field, where wealthy donors or special interest groups have disproportionate influence over politics thereby marginalizing smaller political parties and creating an environment where corruption can thrive.
To curb corruption in elections, politicians must be required to disclose the sources of their funding and limit the amount of donations that can be made by individuals or organizations.
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