Governments must commit to state funding of Political Parties-Afari Gyan

Dr. Kwadwo Afari Gyan, Chairman of the Electoral Commission (EC), said the commitment of governments was necessary in giving practical effect to state funding of political parties.

He said this at a capacity building workshop for political parties’ executives in the Volta Region in Ho, to explore options for improved collaboration between the Commission and political parties towards peaceful elections in December.

Dr. Gyan said political parties would only state their interest and commitment to state funding of their activities when in opposition but forgot about the subject once in power.

He appealed to political parties to channel their resources to contesting parliamentary seats in areas where their chances of winning were solid.

Resources saved on abstention from contesting the less likely parliamentary seats could be channeled to contesting the presidential elections in areas where they were not popular.

He cautioned political parties against denigrating the EC without proof of wrong doing.

“Evidence is the name of the game,” he said.

Dr. Gyan appealed to political parties’ executives to attach great importance to the time and opportunities available, to engage with EC towards consolidating the credibility of Ghana’s electoral system.

Political Parties represented at the workshop were the Progressive Peoples Party (PPP), the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party **