It Costs US$100million To Effectively Fund Presidential Campaigns In Ghana …CDD study

A study by the Center for Democratic Development (CDD) has concluded that it takes some US$100million to effectively prosecute a presidential campaign in Ghana.

And the effective prosecution of the campaign does not necessarily include a surety of victory.

The amount is miles over the US$85,000 that used to be enough to effectively prosecute such campaigns the last time such a study was undertaken, according to the CDD.

For Parliamentary election, a budget of US$ 693,000, the equivalent of GH¢4 million, is what is required to successfully prosecute a campaign

“We found that half of this GH¢4 million money partly goes into nursing the constituency and running in the primaries. These estimates were given by people who have been part of the presidential campaigns. Further research is however needed to itemize the cost to know exactly what goes into the amount. Gender dynamics of the high cost of politics and campaign financing reveal exclusionary effects on women candidates’ ability to raise funds. The women are even disadvantaged if they are married”, explained the Lead Consultant for the study, William Nyarko.

According to the CDD, the study was conducted in four out of the 16 regions of the country. Researchers had collected the information from people who have experience in political campaigns.

The funds, it said, are usually directly distributed to the candidates, political parties through the party, and regional chairpersons through the various levels and heads of the parties’ finance and fundraising committees.

The CDD noted that candidates raise the monies through personal savings, loans, family, special interests, friends, and business financiers.

The study also identified nine financiers of political parties and candidate campaigns, who were allegedly engaged in illicit activities, which included activities of Serious and Organized Crime (SOC) as follows: Illegal mining, illegal oil distribution (bunkering), fraudulent business, and procurement infractions and its associated kickbacks from the award of contracts.