NPP Rejects Supreme Court Ruling on Delegate System, Warns of Huge Financial Burden

• The NPP has rejected the Supreme Court's decision to strike down the delegate system for internal party elections
• Director of Elections Evans Nimako warned the ruling would impose a significant financial burden on political parties across Ghana
• Nimako's remarks follow NDC Chairman Johnson Asiedu Nketiah's proposal that the state should fund internal political party elections

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has come out against the Supreme Court's decision to strike down the delegate system used in internal party elections, arguing the ruling threatens the financial viability of political parties in Ghana.

Evans Nimako, the NPP's Director of Elections, made the party's position clear during an appearance on Joy FM's Midday News on Wednesday, 5 August.

He maintained that the delegate system is a fundamental component of democratic governance and plays a critical role in building strong political parties.

Nimako argued that the party had never supported the direction the court ultimately took, contending that viable political parties are essential to a functioning democracy and that the delegate structure supports that goal.

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"The issue of delegateship is part of democracy," he said, warning that requiring parties to conduct broader participation-based primaries would dramatically raise the cost of organising internal elections nationwide.

"In the face of it, this is going to be a huge burden on political parties," he stressed.

He also urged stakeholders to scrutinise the court's reasoning carefully rather than simply accepting the outcome at face value, questioning what specific problem the judgment was designed to address.

State Funding Debate Reignited

Nimako acknowledged that the ruling has given renewed urgency to a long-running debate about public financing of political parties.

He recalled that parties represented in Parliament had previously engaged the Institute of Economic Affairs on the matter, but cautioned that any state funding arrangement must be underpinned by a robust legal framework to prevent a proliferation of new parties.

"If you do not have the right legal framework, you are likely to open the floodgates and allow the creation and formation of political parties," he said.

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His comments came in direct response to remarks by NDC Chairman Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, who disclosed that the NDC spent approximately GH¢40 million on its 2014 internal elections and called on the state to take over the financing of such exercises.

While Nimako acknowledged that state funding could become unavoidable if parties are compelled to run nationwide primaries under the new dispensation, he insisted that adequate safeguards must first be established before any public financing regime is introduced.

Prominent Ghanaians react to delegate system ruling

Meanwhile, YEN.com.gh reported that the Supreme Court’s ruling on the delegate system had sparked mixed reactions among some prominent Ghanaians on social media.

Lawyer Oliver Barker-Vormawor, who represented the plaintiffs in the case, celebrated the outcome alongside another Supreme Court victory recorded on the same day.

Legal and policy voices, including Kwaku Azar, Kofi Bentil, and NPP’s Gary Nimako Marfo, raised differing questions about how political parties should proceed under the new arrangement.

Source: YEN.com.gh