Multiparty democracy: Will EC bite this time?
It has been said many times that those who want to rule the affairs of men must be seen to be doing the right things in society, especially when they want to be in charge of the public purse and the security of state.
They are expected to be accountable and responsible in their dealings, and when they fail to show signs of responsibility and accountability, then the citizenry will have no choice but to cast them out.
EC ready to bite?
I have discussed this topic before but I need to come back to it because of its importance and what I read last week in the newspapers. It was a pleasant read when in the newspaper advertisement, the Electoral Commission (EC) cautioned some political parties to get their act right or have their registration revoked.
The statement, which was widely circulated in the media, listed 17 political parties whose registration the EC intends to revoke for failure to establish national and regional offices in the country, in accordance with the Political Parties Act of 2000, Act 574.
The EC’s caution is informed by Section 15 (3) (c) of Act 574, which mandates it to cancel the registration of political parties which do not have offices at the national and the regional levels.
17 parties flout law
According to the EC, it undertook a nationwide exercise to inspect the offices of all registered political parties from May 16 to June 9, 2022, and following the nationwide inspection, it came to light that some 17 political parties had no offices at the national and the regional levels.
Offending parties
The offending parties include the United Progressive Party, the United Front Party and the Democratic Freedom Party, formed by persons who have been in the country’s political circles over the past decades or so and must obviously know better.
They also include the National Reform Party, the Democratic People’s Party, the United Development System Party, the Every Ghanaian Living Everywhere Party, the Yes People’s Party, the United Ghana Movement, the New Vision Party, the Ghana Democratic Republican Party and the Ghana National Party.
The rest are the Power Unity Party, the People’s Action Party, the United Renaissance Party, the United Love Party and the Reformed Patriotic Democrats.
Lifeline
Per Act 574, all political parties are expected to adhere to the spirit of the law that allows them to operate and, for basics, assume a national appeal that will help shape the country’s democratic journey. Nonetheless, the EC has given these law flouting political parties a lifeline to put their houses in order.
That lifeline, expires on Thursday, October 20, 2022, by which time the political parties are to show proof why their registration should not be cancelled under the Act.
Blowing hot air
I do hope that the EC is not only blowing hot air but rather it will walk the talk and inject some discipline into the political space and whip political parties and political actors in line to respect the rules of engagement.
One may, however, ask again and again why it has taken the EC such a long time to make such bold and progressive decisions because since the inception of the Fourth Republic, the EC has looked on helplessly while these political parties flout the very law that establishes them with impunity.
It’s long overdue, yet reassuring the decision by the EC to weed the moribund parties out and get nonfunctional political parties out of the political space.
Political entrepreneurs
Sadly, if no firm action is taken, these moribund political parties will suddenly show up in the run-up to elections to muddy the political space and discourse.
Some of these parties and crop of politicians lurk in the shadows of their influential cronies, so at every given time, they play various roles in our body politic and in the process distort and disrupt the efficient management of the electoral process.
In our four decades of seamless democratic sail, this country has seen the rise of many “political entrepreneurs” who seek to gain through, protectionism, government contracts or other such favourable arrangements with government agents through political influence and lobbying.
Alarming
Is it not alarming that a country of 30 million people would have 29 political parties so far registered according to the EC and still counting, while the situation in even advanced democracies differ?
Even India, the biggest democracy on the globe, has only eight national political parties registered. The most recent publication from its Election Commission, dated September 23, 2021, puts the total number of national parties registered at eight. If a country with a projected population of 1.6 billion people has eight political parties, what then is our business registering parties every day only for them to cheekily flout the law?
As opposed to returning to the old ways of doing things out of habit and a lack of creativity, I ask: what is the best way? If we want to grow our multi party political system, then we must learn from the best and advanced democracies that have experimented with the political party system for many decades. And for that matter, the EC deserves our collective support to sanitise the political space.
Diverse arguments
I am not oblivious of the different arguments that have been advanced both for and against the EC’s decision to revoke the registration of these political parties for failing to have regional and national presence, and one of such arguments is that in this era of doing things virtually, political parties do not need to have physical space and presence to effectively function across the country.
Best foot forward
The bitter truth of the matter, however, is that the law cannot be undermined or compromised, and so long as the law remains unchanged, all political parties and actors must stay within the law and work with it.
Going into the 2024 elections, the EC has no option but to put its best foot forward and do everything right and in accordance with the law, without fear or favour, till it delivers yet again another peaceful election to deepen our democratic credentials, which are celebrated globally.
When the EC is successful with its caution to the moribund political parties, it will help bring some sanity, value, respect and trust into the political party system and position it as serious business for only serious minds with the means to contribute meaningfully to our democratic journey and national development efforts. Another thorny area for the EC to look at is who qualifies to become an independent Presidential Candidate.
After 30 years of practising democracy, the era when every Tom, Dick and Harry can register a political party or become independent presidential candidate must be streamlined and be put behind us.
Email: kobby.asmah@graphic.com.gh