Political scientists reject proposal for vice president to resign if elected presidential candidate

Three political scientists have criticized proposals suggesting that a sitting vice president should step down if elected to lead a political party into a presidential election.

The experts, Dr. John Osae-Kwapong, Dr. Samuel Kofi Darkwa, and Gilbert Arhinful Aidoo, argued that while addressing the abuse of incumbency is crucial, not every issue requires legislation.

Their comments were made in response to a suggestion by Hassan Ayariga, leader of the All People’s Congress (APC), who proposed that a Constitutional Instrument (CI) be enacted to mandate a sitting vice president to resign if they the person is elected to run for president, with a new vice president appointed in their place.

Ayariga sad he believes that a sitting vice president running for president could compromise their position by using government resources and state funds for their campaign.

He argued that the resignation of the vice president would promote fairness and integrity in the electoral process.

Dr. Osae-Kwapong acknowledged the need to address incumbency abuse but disagreed with the idea of legally requiring a sitting vice president to step down upon becoming a presidential candidate.

He compared this to asking a sitting president seeking re-election to step down due to potential abuse of incumbency.

“It is the same way one cannot ask a sitting president seeking re-election to step down because of the prospects of abuse of incumbency,” graphic.com.gh reports.

To curb incumbency abuse, Dr. Osae-Kwapong suggested that financial responsibilities should be borne by the candidate, not the state.

He emphasized the need for transparency in campaign financing to detect any unlawful use of state resources and stressed the importance of voters deciding whether an incumbent should be rewarded for last-minute development activities.

Dr. Darkwa cautioned against relying on legislation to address every issue, urging a focus on preventing the abuse of power by those in office.

He also highlighted the risk of incumbency disadvantage due to economic challenges, unemployment, corruption, and other critical issues that could impact the government's chances of retaining power.

“We also need to consider the incumbency disadvantage that many governments face during subsequent terms in established democratic nations.

“From my perspective, the current administration is at a greater risk of incumbency disadvantage compared to the main opposition due to critical issues like the economy, unemployment rates, corruption, food security, etc., which are important to voters. These factors could significantly impact the government's power retention,” Dr Darkwa pointed out.

Gilbert Arhinful Aidoo, a political science lecturer at the University of Education, Winneba, emphasized the need to establish mechanisms to prevent political leaders from abusing state resources for personal gain.

He called for innovative measures to avoid conflicts of interest and ensure fairness in elections, advocating for serious punishments to deter incumbents from exploiting state resources for personal campaigns.

“Serious punishments, including dismissing, prosecuting and surcharging any incumbent politician who may steal from the nation for personal campaign and other gains may serve as a deterrent to others,” he stated.

Aidoo, the report added, also warned that forcing a sitting president or vice president to step down to contest as president could cause administrative disruptions, constitutional issues, and impact the political dynamics in the country.

NAY/AE

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