{
  "id": 58333,
  "title": "Delegate system skews power towards wealthy political aspirants – Prof H.K Prempeh",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/02/delegate-system-skews-power-towards-wealthy-political-aspirants-prof",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-02T20:53:05.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "MyJoyOnline Ghana",
    "slug": "myjoyonline-ghana",
    "url": "https://www.myjoyonline.com/delegate-system-skews-power-towards-wealthy-political-aspirants-prof-h-k-prempeh/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Professor H.K Prempeh, Executive Director of the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), has criticized the delegate system utilized by Ghana's prominent political parties. Prof. Prempeh maintains that this system disproportionately concentrates power among affluent political candidates, marginalizing younger individuals, women, and other party members who lack financial means. During an interview on Woezor TV, he discussed the Supreme Court's ruling on the constitutionality of political parties' delegate systems, noting that concerns about the delegate model existed prior to the decision and primarily focused on its effects on internal party democracy and corruption.\n\nThe delegate system, according to Prof. Prempeh, has created practical issues by rendering internal elections vulnerable to financial influence. He explained that by restricting the number of individuals who can select party candidates, the delegate system has inadvertently skewed power towards those with greater financial resources. This has created significant barriers for young professionals, women, youth, and others who find it challenging to accumulate sufficient campaign funds. Consequently, the system has fostered an environment conducive to vote-buying and corruption, as delegates are relatively few and thus more susceptible to being swayed by financial inducements.\n\nEvidence collected by CDD-Ghana through its observation of party primaries, complemented by widely reported instances during internal elections, substantiates Prof. Prempeh's claims. He observed delegates being offered cash, commodities, and other incentives from candidates aiming to secure their votes. Prof. Prempeh emphasized that such practices would be nearly impossible under an open primary system, where it would be impractical to bribe the entire membership of a political party nationwide. He firmly argued that the delegate system not only undermines internal democracy but also perpetuates negative consequences that hinder Ghana's democratic development by fostering corruption and reinforcing the influence of wealth in politics.",
  "summary": "Executive Director of the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), Prof. Henry Kwasi Prempeh, has renewed calls for Ghana's political parties to adopt open primaries, arguing that allowing all registered party members to participate in the selection of national candidates would strengthen internal democracy and reduce the influence of money in politics.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "MyJoyOnline Ghana",
        "title": "Political parties should move towards open primaries to deepen internal democracy – Prof Kwasi Prempeh",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/02/political-parties-should-move-towards-open-primaries-to-deepen",
        "published": "2026-08-02T20:11:08.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}