The Member of Parliament for Krachi-Nchumuru, Hon. Solomon Kuyon, has warned that implementing the Supreme Court’s directive on mass voting in party primaries without cleaning party registers will destroy the integrity of internal elections.
On Wednesday, July 29, the Supreme Court declared the delegate system unconstitutional.
The court ruled that every member of a political party in good standing must be allowed to vote in party elections. Political parties have been given one year to implement the ruling.
Speaking in an interview, Hon. Kuyon said while the ruling intends to reduce money politics, the practical realities could make things worse. He spoke from experience, having overseen the NDC’s 2015 experiment with mass voting as District Chief Executive.
“Under the delegate system, people who have not suffered or toiled for the party can also buy their way in because of money,” he explained. That concern, he said, informed the party’s decision at the time to broaden participation through mass voting.
However, Hon. Kuyon said the exercise proved costly. “Candidates were still expected to ‘give something’ when they met party members during campaign tours,” he stated. He added that reaching thousands of members across constituencies placed a huge financial burden on aspirants.
Beyond cost, the MP identified infiltration of party registers as the biggest threat. He warned that opening primaries to all members without verification will allow opponents and non-members to vote strategically and impose weak candidates.
“The door is open for manipulation if we don’t bring sanity into the registration exercise,” Hon. Kuyon cautioned. He said strategic voting by people with no commitment to the party will undermine the quality of leadership that emerges.
The Krachi-Nchumuru MP concluded that parties must use the one-year window given by the Supreme Court to audit and sanitize their membership lists. “We must first clean the register. Otherwise, we will replace one problem with another,” he said.
By Prosper Kwaku Selassy Agbitor
About The Author
