Recent exchanges in the traditional and social media between the Attorney General of Ghana Hon. Dr Dominic Ayine and first time Member of Parliament for Gomoa Central Constituency- Hon. Kwame Asare Obeng (A-Plus)—both being members of the Majority Caucus Group in Ghana’s Parliament is not only worrying but a reminder of the unspoken Price Of Power within Ghana’s political arena. Hon. Kwame Asare Obeng alleges that Dr Ayine solicited an amount of Five Hundred Thousand Ghana Cedis (500,000 GHs) from one Dr Sledge to be used to as an incentive for Members of Parliament on the Sanitation Committee. The allegations has caused the AG (Dr Ayine) to respond and explain—that the said amount was for the purpose of funding his bid to return to Parliament in the just ended general election. These accusation, explanations and exchanges has ignited the issue of Political Party Campaign Financing and its implications on the integrity of Ghana’s politicians and democracy. Ghana’s democratic model, long considered a beacon in West Africa, is under financial siege. As the cost of running for office skyrockets, the country’s political space is becoming an exclusive playground for the wealthy—pushing out patriotic Ghanaians who genuinely want to serve but cannot afford the entrance fee. This cancerous phenomenon seems to have spread from the presidential and parliamentary elections campaign to the Local Governance/Assembly elections and voting to confirm appointment of MMDCE’s.
Recent research by the Westminster Foundation for Democracy and the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) places the average cost of a parliamentary campaign at over GHS 4 million—up from GHS 390,000 in 2016. Aspiring candidates are required to cover enormous expenses, including filing fees, constituency mobilisation, primary elections, transportation, media campaigns, and voter outreach.
This relentless inflation in political costs is not just a financial issue—it’s a moral and generational crisis. Highly qualified Ghanaians with integrity, fresh ideas, and a genuine desire to serve are being priced out of the system.
Nowhere is this more evident than among Ghana’s youth. Vibrant young adults, who form over 55% of the population, are routinely sidelined due to a lack of financial capital. Many find the political landscape so prohibitively expensive that they simply disengage—leaving politics in the hands of career financiers and political businessmen.
Once elected, politicians are under immense pressure to repay the individuals and interest groups that bankrolled their campaigns. These unofficial political debts often take the form of inflated contracts, unnecessary appointments, and access to insider economic privileges.
The result is a transactional system where public resources are not allocated on merit or national need, but in fulfilment of political debts—leading to waste, inefficiency, and corruption.
While Ghana’s Political Parties Act, 2000 (Act 574) requires parties to declare funding sources, enforcement is practically nonexistent. Even worse, the law does not require individual candidates to declare how they finance their campaigns. This creates a gaping loophole where unregulated— and often illicit—money flows unchecked.
Despite growing awareness of the problem, the public remains sceptical of proposed remedies such as state funding for political parties. A 2022 CDD-Ghana survey found that the majority of Ghanaians oppose direct public funding of political campaigns. Many fear such a move would be exploited by political elites and further drain national coffers.
If Ghana’s democracy is to survive and thrive, its campaign finance system must undergo radical reform. The current structure fosters exclusion, incentivises corruption, and turns leadership into a recoverable investment.
Recommendations:
Amend Campaign Finance Laws: Require full disclosure from parties and individual candidates. Introduce campaign spending limits and sanctions in terms of Fines and baring. Strengthen the Electoral Commission: Equip it with enforcement powers and audit capabilities. Implement Conditional Public Funding: Link support to transparency and inclusivity criteria. Civic Education Campaigns: Reduce vote-buying and increase voter awareness. Promote Youth Access to Politics: Establish financing pathways and quotas for youth candidates.
Ghana must not allow its democracy to be hijacked by money. When politics becomes the domain of only those who can afford it, the nation loses out on its best minds, most passionate reformers, and most principled leaders. Reforming political financing is NOT optional—it is ESSENTIAL to restoring faith in public service and rescuing Ghana from a future where power is for sale to the highest bidder.
Author: SWALAH, Abubakar-Sidiq, Policy & Security Analyst, Security Consultant, Veteran, Criminologists.
