Deputy Attorney General Justice Srem-Sai has shared an excerpt from the Supreme Court of Ghana’s landmark judgment explaining why the country’s highest court declared the political party delegates system unconstitutional for selecting presidential and parliamentary candidates.
The Facebook post follows the Supreme Court’s historic 5-2 ruling in the case of Prof. Frimpong-Boateng & 2 Others v NPP & 4 Others, which struck down the delegates system used in internal political party elections, describing it as inconsistent with Ghana’s Constitution and democratic principles.
The seven-member Supreme Court panel included Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, alongside Justices Gabriel Scott Pwamang, Issifu Omoro Tanko Amadu, Samuel Kwame Adibu-Asiedu, Senyo Dzamefe, Ernest Yao Gaewu, and George Kingsley Koomson.
According to the judgment delivered on July 29, 2026, Chief Justice Baffoe-Bonnie explained that while opening party primaries to all registered party members may not completely eliminate vote-buying, it better protects constitutional democracy and promotes broader political participation.
The Chief Justice acknowledged that money politics could continue under any electoral system but stressed that constitutional decisions must focus on solutions that best uphold democratic values, even if they are not perfect.
He further noted that the delegates system creates a higher risk of electoral corruption because it concentrates voting power in a relatively small group of delegates, making each vote more valuable and easier to influence through targeted inducements or vote-buying.
According to the judgment, expanding the electorate to include thousands of ordinary party members disperses political power, making it significantly more difficult for election outcomes to be manipulated through financial incentives or a limited number of transactions.
Chief Justice Baffoe-Bonnie concluded that, at Ghana’s current stage of democratic development, the Constitution supports a broader and more inclusive model of internal party democracy, requiring political parties to adopt transparent and participatory methods for electing their presidential and parliamentary candidates.
Justice Srem-Sai shared the excerpt on social media without offering additional comments, allowing the Supreme Court’s reasoning to speak for itself as public debate continues over the future of political party primaries and electoral reforms in Ghana.
Source: newsthemegh.com