Vote-buying: High cost of politics is pricing out people with integrity – Inusah Fuseini

Former Tamale Central MP Inusah Fuseini says the growing cost of politics is pushing people with integrity out of public life and fuelling corruption. Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express on Tuesday, he warned that the demand for money was narrowing political participation. Women, young people and people with valuable skills were being priced out. His comments come amid reports of widespread vote buying during the NDC’s latest internal executive elections.

“It is a fact that what is happening is excluding a lot of people from the political space,” he said. “Those heavily impacted by what is happening are women and the youth because they might not have the required resources to be able to do that.” Mr Fuseini said the financial burden was also discouraging people whose integrity and reputation could benefit the country.

He warned that heavy political spending creates pressure to recover the money after gaining power. “A politician is not an NGO and so when people spend that amount of money, they expect to recoup that, and that fuels corruption on a national scale.” The former NDC legislator said efforts to tackle inducement in internal elections had exposed a gap in the party’s constitution.

According to him, the constitution did not clearly give the relevant party bodies authority to handle such cases. That leaves disciplinary action open to challenge. “In fact, the committee had said, our committee had said that having admitted that that thing had happened in the elections, there was a need for sanctions, but also appreciated the fact that there was no legal mechanism in our constitution to deal with that.” Fuseini said the committee was considering which institutions should handle complaints and what should count as inappropriate financial support.

“How much money can we say is appropriate in the circumstances? If somebody gives a delegate GH¢200, is it an inducement or what is it?” He also raised the difficulty of dealing with payments described as transport support when the amounts exceed reasonable travel costs. The proposed framework could give constituency councils of elders authority to act or refer cases to the party’s national headquarters.

Recommendations would feed into the party’s constitutional amendment process. “So yes, it’s a work in progress.”