An aspiring Deputy General Secretary of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC), Anthony Kwame Nukpenu, has claimed that anyone hoping to contest the party’s internal elections in the Greater Accra Region needs at least GH¢3.5 million to run a competitive campaign.
According to him, the rising cost of internal party elections and the growing monetisation of the political process pose a serious threat to Ghana’s democracy.
Speaking in an interview on Rainbow Radio 87.5FM on Thursday, August 6, 2026, Nukpenu welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision to abolish the delegates system in favour of universal voting by all registered party members in good standing during presidential and parliamentary primaries.
He, however, argued that political parties should have been given more time to prepare for the implementation of the new system.
“Monetisation of our elections is a dirt on Ghana’s democracy. That is why I support the outcome of the court case, although I would have preferred they gave the political parties more time to implement the directives. The directive from the Supreme Court is good; it will deal with the inducements, monetisation, and vote-buying,” he said.
Nukpenu explained that contesting any NDC primary in the Greater Accra Region has become extremely expensive, adding that the estimated GH¢3.5 million campaign cost does not include expenses for the national elections.
“Contesting in any primaries in the Greater Accra Region, one would require GH¢3.5 million to run your campaign. That is for just the internal primaries; it excludes the main elections. We even have situations where, when people win the elections, they are unable to even print posters for the general elections because they spent everything they had on the internal primaries,” he stated.
He further criticised the practice of distributing expensive gifts such as refrigerators and freezers to influence delegates and party members, describing it as harmful to Ghana’s democratic development.
Nukpenu warned that if excessive campaign spending and vote-buying are not addressed, politics could become dominated by individuals with questionable sources of wealth.
“The profligacy of our elections, where people share fridges, freezers, and other things, is a disgrace to our democracy. For several years I have argued that if we don’t deal with this, we will get drug lords and fraud boys as MPs because they have the money they can misuse,” he said.
He urged political parties to strengthen their grassroots structures and intensify political education to prepare members for the new electoral system.
Nukpenu added that while he supports the Supreme Court’s ruling, political parties need adequate time to build strong membership structures and encourage greater commitment, loyalty and active participation from their members.
