Professor Kwaku Azar calls for Commissioner for Political Parties to regulate NPP, NDC

Renowned legal practitioner and governance advocate, Professor Stephen Kwaku Asare, popularly known as Kwaku Azar, has called for the establishment of an independent Commissioner for Political Parties to regulate the activities of political parties in Ghana.

In a keynote address delivered at a public forum organised by Solidaire Ghana on Tuesday, June 30, 2026, Professor Kwaku Azar underscored the urgent need for a special ombudsman to oversee the operations of political parties in the country.

He noted that the absence of a dedicated regulatory institution has created a vacuum that is adversely affecting Ghana’s democracy, as political parties currently operate without recourse to any clear guidelines or enforceable standards.

“Ghana needs an independent Commissioner of Political Parties with the power to regulate, investigate and enforce the law. Without enforcement, laws are mere slogans. With enforcement, laws become the backbone of democracy,” he stated at the event held at the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA).

Professor Kwaku Azar decried the current situation in which political parties, in his view, have veered away from their core mandate and vision and are now primarily focused on winning elections.

He averred that the role of political parties in a democratic state goes far beyond winning elections and that political parties have a responsibility to serve as agents of social, political and economic development.

Professor Asare observed that the persistent disconnect between electoral victories and improvements in citizens’ lives represents a serious deviation from the objectives that underpin the democratic system of government.

He stressed that there must always be a clear link between the activities of political parties and tangible national development. Rather than judging political parties solely by their ability to win elections, he argued, they should be assessed based on their capacity to ensure their governments transform and meaningfully improve the lives of the citizenry.

“Political parties were not created merely to win elections. They were created to improve lives — better schools, better roads, better hospitals, better jobs, a cleaner environment and greater opportunities. That is the report card by which every political party should ultimately be judged. If a political party wins elections but fails to improve lives, it has succeeded politically but failed democratically,” he declared.

Themed “Political Parties: Origin and Current Realities,” the forum brought together governance and political experts to deliberate on how Ghanaian political parties, particularly the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC), have become pale shadows of the ideals and visions of their founders.

The event also featured a panel discussion with Professor Kingsley Agonnor of GIMPA and Professor Rosina Folie of the University of Ghana, who shared insightful perspectives on the relevance of political parties in Ghana’s national development discourse.

AM/BAI