Here's how much you need to become president of Ghana - Report

The Ghana Center for Democratic Governance (CDD-Ghana) has revealed that the cost involved in winning presidential elections in the country has shot up to $200 million.

According to the Executive Director of CDD-Ghana, Professor Henry Kwasi Prempeh, the amount raises concerns about the sustainability and inclusiveness of the nation’s democratic process.

Prof Prempeh who was speaking at an Open Society event in Accra cautioned that the trend of growing financial burden in contesting for public office risks shutting out competent leaders without access to vast resources.

“I think you need about $200 million to win a presidential contest. How many of you here are ever going to be in that category or cohort of candidates? Even at the parliamentary level or at the primary level, it is nearly impossible for many of you,” a citinewsroom report on Tuesday, September 16, 2025 quoted Prof Prempeh.

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The policy analyst further warned that the trend will undermine Ghana’s democratic and development aspirations and that there is a high risk of politics becoming a preserve of the wealthy and well-connected in society.

“We cannot have that kind of democracy and expect it to be developmental. So, we need to worry about our campaign financing and regulating our internal party democracy,” he stressed.

The recent revelation by the executive director shows a steep rise in the estimated cost of vying for Ghana’s topmost political office.

In 2021, a CDD-Ghana report revealed the cost of winning a presidential election to be at $100 million.

The study also showed that parliamentarians also need at least GH¢ 4 million.

“In 2021, a study was conducted by CDD to assess the extent to which illicit and illegal money move into our politics, and as part of the findings, the study sought to determine how much the cost of politics and electioneering campaign was.

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“In the current estimate per this statement, running for Parliament was GH¢ 4 million, out of this amount two million is dedicated towards nurturing constituencies and the other two million is after the securing of the candidature position,” a representative of CDD-Ghana, Saadija Shiraz disclosed in 2021.

“For the cost for running for president, the study estimated that the most viable sum of money that a person running for president needed was US$100 million… this is why we need to engage in conversations to reform the monetisation of Ghana’s politics,” she added.

GA/VPO

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