Supreme Court Ruling Will Not End Vote Buying in Political Parties-Solomon Owusu Opines

Director of Communications for the United Party (UP), Solomon Owusu, says the Supreme Court’s 5–2 ruling allowing all registered party members in good standing to vote in internal leadership and parliamentary elections will not end vote buying or money politics.

Instead, he believes the decision could make the problem worse.

Speaking in an interview on Nyankonton Mu Nsem on Rainbow Radio 87.5FM, Owusu said the court ruling does not address the real causes of corruption and election monetisation within political parties.

According to him, some politicians in opposition receive funding from questionable sources, including drug dealers, illegal miners and other criminal groups. He claimed that after winning power, some of them misuse state resources to recover the money spent on their campaigns.

Owusu also questioned what qualifies someone as a party member in “good standing.”

He said many grassroots supporters struggle to meet their daily needs and may not be able to pay party dues.

He warned that wealthy politicians could simply pay the dues of thousands of supporters to influence internal elections.

According to him, this could encourage politicians to register large numbers of people only to secure votes during party contests.

Owusu argued that political parties should instead focus on identifying where campaign funds come from and investigating public officials who become wealthy soon after assuming office.

“The outcome of the case will not solve the problem. The issue of corruption, if we want to deal with it, must first start from those politicians who, within a short period of being appointed to office, pick forms to contest, share money and other items so they can win elections. These are serious matters. We must be bold in demanding answers from people who share money for votes,” he said.

“We should investigate and determine how politicians contesting elections fund their campaigns. How can people running campaigns share these items and money? That must be the focus. Someone who had no company, factory, or anything, and yet is able to mobilise resources after being given an appointment in government to fund campaigns and share money to delegates, must show where they got the money.”

Owusu also proposed reducing the number of delegates in internal elections and selecting people who are less likely to be influenced by money.

“We should let those who accept money from politicians before voting for them know that when they win power, they will certainly find ways to recoup their investments.

“We should have focused on reducing the number of delegates and having people of a high-quality standard who cannot be influenced by money. Imagine you have the calibre of delegates like Sir Sam Jonah or Otumfuo Osei Tutu II – can you convince them with money to vote for you? You can only convince them through your vision. So, let’s focus rather on improving the calibre of our delegates,” he added.

He also suggested that political parties should consider stronger vetting systems to select the best presidential and parliamentary candidates instead of relying only on popular votes.

Owusu further warned that expanding the number of voters in internal elections would increase costs and could allow wealthy individuals to influence party democracy unless the state provides financial support.