Ghana’s elections are heavily monetized, with presidential candidates needing around $100M and parliamentary candidates $693K. This fosters corruption, public distrust, leadership deficits, and economic challenges, requiring urgent reforms
You might be wondering how much it cost President-elect, John Dramani Mahama, Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia as well as other presidential candidates to run for the presidency in Ghana’s recent elections.
You might also be wondering how much you might need to accumulate to be able to run for a seat in parliament in parliamentary elections in Ghana.
The Ghana Times & Brand Focus Africa is learning that contesting for both the presidency and parliamentary seat in Ghana’s presidential and parliamentary elections is no child’s play without a deep pocket. Both presidential and parliamentary aspirants have a tall list of expenditures to meet.
Some of these expenses include party filing and nomination fees, Campaign logistics, media & advertisement, monetary & non-monetary incentives to delegates during party primaries, community engagements with traditional leaders, religious groups, and opinion leaders, and security or protocol.
Even on the day of voting, huge expenses are incurred such as sponsoring party polling agents, mobilizing voters, and providing them with transportation in some instances.
With this huge financial burden, research conducted by the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) to examine spending in Ghana’s political campaigns, investigate the source of funding, the role of illicit money, and the nature of the illicit flows reveals that a presidential candidate needs an estimate of US$100 million, which is equivalent to GHC 1.5 billion today.
The study conducted in 2021 also reveals that without US$693,000, one may not be successful in contesting for a parliamentary seat in Ghana.
This implies that with the ongoing major elections period, presidential and parliamentary candidates have spent a fortune of resources. This extensively depicts how monetized Ghana’s democracy and elections have become which has huge socio-economic repercussions.
The following are some of the socio-economic impacts of the expensive cost of contesting elections in Ghana;
Analysts have observed that the situation leads to increased public corruption. Politicians who spend exorbitant amounts on campaigns may engage in corrupt practices to recover their costs once in office. This fosters mismanagement of public funds, undermines fiscal discipline, and increases the risk of financial scandals.
There is also the erosion of public trust and investor confidence. The perception that elections are “bought” weakens public trust in governance and democratic processes. When citizens believe that leaders prioritize financiers over public service, it can erode investor confidence in the country’s governance and economic policies.
Moreover, the over-monetization of elections may sideline capable individuals who lack financial resources. This can lead to a leadership deficit, where economic decisions are driven more by populism and patronage than by sound economic planning.
There is the potential for increased inflationary pressures leading to a rising cost of living as a result of over-monetized elections. When large sums of money are distributed in local economies during campaigns, it temporarily inflates prices of goods and services, disproportionately affecting lower-income citizens.
In addition, the situation is also a breeding ground for illicit financial flow which robs the state of the needed revenue and causes the depreciation of the local currency.
To address this situation, political watchers recommend that there is need for drastic reforms to regulate campaign financing, promote transparency, and educate voters on how the long-term effects of monetized elections are critical to mitigating these economic impacts. Encouraging grassroots civic participation and implementing strict electoral laws could help ensure that leadership is determined by merit rather than financial clout.
