The Upper East Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Anthony Namoo, has warned that expanding voting rights in political party elections without credible membership and verification systems could expose internal elections to manipulation.
Speaking on the implications of a Supreme Court ruling on participation in the election of presidential and parliamentary candidates, Mr. Namoo said political parties would need to establish reliable membership databases and verification mechanisms before implementing broader direct voting.
“You need a huge amount of resources to be able to build this, build a database and ensure integrity in the system,” he stated.
While supporting broader participation in internal party elections, Mr. Namoo warned that weak membership verification systems could allow individuals without genuine commitment to a political party to influence its internal elections.
“We live in a society where people are not that credible. I am not saying everybody, but some people are not credible,” he said.
He cited instances where individuals elected as executives of one political party later joined or contested on the ticket of a rival party as an example of the challenges parties could face in determining genuine membership.
“If somebody is elected as a polling station executive for NPP and later goes to contest for NDC, look at how dangerous that can become,” he said.
Mr. Namoo said a properly managed membership system could, however, help address problems such as individuals belonging to multiple political parties.
He also argued that expanded voting rights should come with greater responsibilities for party members, including the payment of membership dues.
“Every right comes with responsibility. If you want to vote, you must also take financial responsibility as a member,” he stated.
Mr. Namoo said the Supreme Court ruling presents opportunities to deepen internal party democracy but maintained that political parties must strengthen their membership and verification systems to protect the integrity of their elections.
“We need deep reflection on this decision because democracy must grow, but the structures supporting it must also grow,” he added.
A1 Radio | 101.1 MHz | Moses Apiah | Bolgatanga
