IMANI Warns Supreme Court Ruling on Party Primaries Could Create Administrative Challenges

The IMANI Centre for Policy and Education has cautioned that the Supreme Court‘s decision requiring political parties to allow all registered members to vote in their internal elections could create significant legal and administrative challenges if not backed by legislative reforms.

In an assessment of the ruling, Research Assistant Ransford Brobbey described the decision as a bold step towards expanding internal party democracy but warned that it exposes gaps in Ghana’s political and electoral framework.

According to him, the absence of a centralised database of political party members is one of the biggest obstacles to implementing the ruling.

Brobbey argued that because political parties currently maintain their own membership records, there is no legal mechanism preventing individuals from holding membership in multiple political parties, creating the risk of “party raiding,” where members of one party participate in another party’s internal elections to influence the outcome.

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He also questioned the court’s interpretation of democratic principles, arguing that Ghana’s constitutional system is built on representative democracy, where elected representatives perform functions on behalf of citizens.

Brobbey said delegate systems within political parties are consistent with that principle because delegates are themselves elected by grassroots members.

The IMANI researcher further noted that the ruling creates a legal mismatch with the Political Parties Act, 2000 (Act 574), which grants political parties the autonomy to determine their internal governance structures.

He maintained that while the Supreme Court has directed parties to amend their constitutions, Parliament must amend the law to align the statutory framework with the court’s decision.

Brobbey also disputed suggestions that abolishing the delegate system would eliminate vote-buying, arguing instead that expanding the electorate could simply increase campaign costs and favour wealthier candidates capable of financing larger internal campaigns.

He called on Parliament to amend Act 574 and empower the Electoral Commission to maintain a unified partisan membership database, warning that without such reforms, the implementation of the ruling could create confusion and undermine the integrity of internal party elections.