Reduce cost of elections – Professor Gyimah-Boadi

Renowned political scientist and co-founder of the Afrobarometer Network, Professor Emmanuel Gyimah-Boadi, has thrown a challenge to the current leadership of the Electoral Commission of Ghana to reduce the cost per voter in the 2020 elections by 50 per cent, since, in his estimation, the cost of elections in Ghana is too high.

According to him, Ghana's $12.03 cost incurred per voter is among the highest on the continent, while countries like Nigeria spend around $9 per voter during elections.

He believes when the right measures are implemented, Ghana can drastically reduce the huge funds spent on conducting elections.

The former Executive Director of policy think Tank CDD-Ghana, said this when he delivered a lecture at the 14th "Kronti ne Akwamu" lecture series on the theme: Making democracy work for the people: Reflections on Ghana's 25-year journey towards democratic development.

He said: “There are also some obstacles to inclusive democratic representation within our election management body itself. Here, I note first the unjustifiable high cost per voter of Ghana’s general elections. So at $12.03 per voter in 2016, Ghana’s elections cost more than Nigeria’s $9.33 per voter and Tanzania’s $5.16 per voter and Uganda’s $4 per voter.

“I daresay that at this price, one day it may literally be impossible for Ghana to hold elections, and, so, I throw a challenge to the new leadership of the Electoral Commission to reduce the cost of Ghana’s elections by about half in 2020. Uganda has it, Tanzania has done it and Ghana should be able to do it.”