EC struggling to regulate political parties, take away that function – Majority Leader urges

Majority Leader in Parliament, Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu has said the power given to the Electoral Commission (EC) to regulate political parties in Ghana must be reviewed.

He suggested that the mandate should be taken from the elections management and be given to another body that will be solely responsible for the regulation of the parties.

Addressing the press in Accra on Wednesday, December 15 he said it appears the EC has not been able to deliver that particular functions properly, hence the call for the withdrawal of the mandate.

The Suame lawmaker said “There must be a state-funding of political parties with clearly defined modalities for its implementation, strengthen the internal political parties mechanisms, the need for consistent public education on the ill-effect of monetisation of politics on national development.

“The mandate of the Electoral Commission must be reviewed and a different institution established to be solely responsible for the regulation of political parties.

“The EC is charged with the conduct of elections but the regulation of political parties is something that has become difficult for Electoral Commission. Perhaps the time has come to assign another institution with that responsibility.

“The law provides that if you don’t exist in two thirds of the districts in this country you don’t have to be registered as a political party.”

The Minister for Parliamentary Affairs added “The EC without recourse to this provision in the constitution would usually give them a provisional certificate.

“When they don’t exist in two thirds of the districts we should be religious about that and once we are able to do this the multiplicity of political parties that we have in the system, more than 32 or so registered political parties yet we know that in terms of ideology there can only be two political parties.

“You either belong to the left or you belong to the right. The directive principles of state policy which has defined the broad goal of development for us as a nation compels all political parties to belong to the centre.

“So in spite of ourselves, I belong to the NPP and we are a liberal party, the rightist liberal party, the NDC is pride of themselves also belong just a little bit of the left to the Centre.”