National Chairman of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketia, has attributed the growing incidence of bribery and corruption in Ghana partly to the high cost of contesting parliamentary elections.
According to him, the financial demands placed on parliamentary aspirants from the party primaries through to the general election are often far greater than the remuneration they receive during their four-year tenure in Parliament.
Speaking on Accra-based Onua TV, while discussing the Supreme Court’s decision to phase out the delegates system for party primaries, Mr Asiedu Nketia said the rising cost of elections was creating unhealthy financial pressures on politicians.
He explained that the amount candidates are required to spend to secure a parliamentary seat could exceed their total salary over a full four-year term.
“It has increased the amount spent in contesting for any position one wants to contest. Research has even shown that the amount one has to spend in an attempt to go to Parliament, from primaries to the general elections, when compared with what he will gain for all the four years in Parliament, it means the cost is more than the gains,” he said in Twi.
To illustrate his argument, the NDC chairman used a hypothetical example in which a parliamentary candidate spends GH¢1 million to secure the seat but earns only GH¢400,000 in salary over four years.
“So for instance, if your total salary for going to Parliament will be GHC400,000.00 and the cost of getting there is GHC1 million, where are you going to get the GHC600,000.00 balance?” he asked.
Mr Asiedu Nketia questioned why politicians would continue seeking re-election when their electoral expenditure significantly exceeds their official earnings.
He argued that the persistence of such spending suggests that some lawmakers may resort to other means to recover the money invested in their campaigns.
“So if that cost is genuine cost, after one term, you shouldn’t have gone again,” he said.
“But rather, they go again. It means they get the money somewhere to pay off and that’s why many people believe is the root of bribery and corruption,” he added.
Mr Asiedu Nketia maintained that reducing the financial burden associated with elections would be an important step towards addressing the conditions that encourage corruption in Ghana’s political system.
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