On July 29, 2026, the Supreme Court of Ghana will deliver its judgment in a case brought by Prof. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, Dr Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe and Dr Christine Amoako-Nuamah.
At the heart of the case is a direct challenge to the delegate system that Ghana's major political parties have used since the return to multiparty democracy in 1992 to elect their presidential flag bearers and parliamentary candidates.
This system restricts voting in internal party politics to people called “delegates” who are typically party executives, constituency officials and other designated representatives.
The plaintiffs argue that the system is undemocratic.
In terms of the specific reliefs sought, the plaintiffs are asking the Supreme Court to do three things.
First, to declare that the delegate-based electoral system is unconstitutional; to compel political parties to allow all registered members in good standing to participate directly in internal party elections; and to order the Electoral Commission to more actively enforce their roles as prescribed by the Political Parties Act, 2000 (Act 574).
These individuals have been active in our Fourth Republic’s governance and politics.
They have therefore seen firsthand the delegate system in operation and believe it is time to ask some questions about it.
Challenging the delegate system – Why now?
Ghana's political parties have relied on the delegate system since the birth of the Fourth Republic and the return to multiparty politics in 1992.
Yet it took nine general elections and more than three decades before a direct, formal legal challenge was mounted against it.
The key question is – why now? In my view, the answer is partly an unintended consequence of the system that has grown over time.
The delegate system is a pragmatic way for political parties to manage internal elections when their members are spread across a large geographic area.
The logistical and financial implications also made this pragmatic approach acceptable.
What we have now, though, is something troubling - an exclusive and increasingly powerful group of people who wield unchecked power to determine who becomes a parliamentary candidate or a presidential flag bearer, with significant financial implications for aspiring candidates.
This system has become entrenched and the financial stakes have grown with troubling implications for electoral integrity and Ghana’s democracy.
What has made the situation even more alarming is the acceptance of this narrative that delegate votes are available to the highest bidder.
Party primaries are regularly described as the "cocoa season" for delegates. In essence, it is a time for delegates to monetise their high political value.
Delegates themselves have done very little to dispel this narrative.
On the contrary, inducements offered by candidates are sometimes displayed openly, reinforcing the “cocoa season” narrative and normalising inducements as an acceptable feature of our electoral system.
What I feel the delegates are saying is “why hide that which we all know and practice?”
The lawsuit, as I see it, has an overall objective – to sanitise the country’s electoral practices, especially in internal party elections.
That, for me, is a noble cause worth pursuing.
Political parties and the delegate system
It is important to acknowledge, in fairness, that the delegate system has some redeeming features.
The first is that delegates are drawn from across the party's entire structure — from the polling station through the constituency, regional and national levels.
In fact, many gain their delegate status through internal party elections.
For example, a constituency chairperson is elected by a vote of party members in that constituency.
There is therefore an embedded element of democratic process in how people become delegates in their respective political parties.
Furthermore, over the years, political parties have expanded the number of delegates participating in their internal elections.
Take the New Patriotic Party (NPP) for example.
In 1996, when former President Kufuor was elected flag bearer, the party had 2,000 delegates.
In 2024, when former Vice-President Dr Bawumia was elected flag bearer, a little over 200,000 delegates took part.
For the 2004 election, on the National Democratic Congress (NDC) side, 1,400 delegates took part to elect the late President Mills as flag bearer.
For the 2024 election, as many as 355,000 delegates took part to elect now-President John Mahama as party flag bearer.
In selecting candidates for the 2016 parliamentary elections, the NDC allowed all members in good standing to participate in the primary.
Unfortunately, the party abandoned this approach after the 2016 election.
I, therefore, give the parties some credit.
The future of the delegate system
The failure of political parties to sanitise their monetisation and problematic features is what, I believe, has landed us where we are today – an invitation to the highest court of the land to determine whether it offends the Constitution or not.
We wait to hear what the court decides.
The writer is the Project Director, Democracy Project
