The Executive Director of the Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), Professor Henry Kwasi Prempeh, has voiced concerns over the Electoral Commission’s (EC) decision to approve 13 candidates for the 2024 presidential election. Speaking at a lecture in honor of the late legal luminary Akoto Ampaw, Prof. Prempeh questioned the integrity of the electoral process, suggesting that some of the candidates may be proxies for the two dominant political parties, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
In September 2024, the EC announced that 13 out of 24 applicants had successfully been vetted and cleared to contest the December 7 presidential polls. However, Prof. Prempeh argued that many of the smaller political parties allowed to run are not genuine contenders but serve as proxies for the NPP and NDC, aiming to influence decision-making at the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC).
He criticized the EC for not being more rigorous in its vetting process, which he believes would have reduced the number of candidates on the ballot. “We operate a duopolistic political system in a highly polarized, winner-takes-all political culture,” Prempeh said, noting that the proliferation of candidates undermines the democratic process. He stressed that many political parties do not meet the requirements but are allowed to contest, contributing to inflated numbers on the ballot.
