The Supreme Court’s decision requiring all eligible card-bearing members of political parties to vote in internal elections could significantly increase the financial burden on political parties and deepen the influence of wealthy financiers, according to NPP legal committee member Kwesi Forkuor-Benyin.

Speaking on the Asaase Breakfast Show on Thursday (30 July), Forkuor-Benyin said political parties would now have to organise nationwide primaries involving potentially millions of members, substantially increasing operational costs.

“Political parties will have to spend exorbitant amounts of resources organising political primaries so that all card-bearing or registered members… can vote,” he said.

Forkuor-Benyin observed that political parties occupy a unique constitutional position, functioning as both private organisations and public democratic institutions.

Because of that, he argued, their finances are already heavily dependent on wealthy individuals and party financiers.

“We know individuals, rich individuals, party financiers, who fund political parties,” he said.

According to him, forcing parties to spend even more money on internal elections could unintentionally strengthen the influence of these financiers over Ghana’s political system.

“What are we indirectly doing?” he asked. “We are subjecting our democracy to the hands of a very tiny and powerful minority of rich individuals who operate behind the scenes.”

Forkuor-Benyin also rejected suggestions that the court had no authority to examine political party constitutions.

He acknowledged that the Supreme Court has constitutional power to strike down provisions in party constitutions that conflict with the national Constitution.

However, he maintained that the broader policy implications of the judgment deserved careful consideration once the court releases its full written decision.