Political Parties Flout Electoral Laws

Thirteen out of the 14 registered political parties in the country have flouted with impunity the political parties law that requires them to periodically submit their audited accounts to the Electoral Commission (EC).

Only the Democratic People’s Party (DPP) has religiously been submitting its audited accounts since 1992, a feat which the main political parties, especially the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), have not been able to match.

Under Article 14 of the Political Parties Law, which deals with the declaration of assets, liabilities and expenditure in relation to elections, punishment for the violation of the law is the cancellation of the registration of the defaulting political party.

A recent report requested from the EC by the Daily Graphic indicated that the NDC and the People’s National Convention (PNC) had not submitted their audited accounts for 2010, while the NPP and the Convention People’s Party (CPP) had defaulted since 2007.

The Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP) submitted accounts only for 2002, 2003 and 2004.

For the remaining eight political parties, two — the Reformed Patriotic Democrats (RPD) and the New Vision Party (NVP) — submitted their accounts for only 2008.

The Democratic Freedom Party (DFP), the National Reform Party (NRP), the Ghana National Party (GNP), the United Renaissance Party (URP), the Eagle Party and the United Love Party (ULP) have never submitted a single audited accounts to the EC as required by law since they were established.

Article 14 (2) of the Political Parties Law, Act 574 (2000), (part one of which talks about the funding and registration of political parties) says that, “A political party shall, within six months after a general or bye-election in which it has participated, submit to the commission a detailed statement in such form as the commission may direct of all expenditure incurred for that election

“(3) A statement required to be submitted under this section shall be supported by a statutory declaration made by the general or national secretary of the political party and the national treasurer of that party.

(4) Without prejudice to any other penalty provided in this act or any other enactment, where a political party (a) refuses or neglects to comply with this section; or (b) submits a statement which is false in any material particular, the commission may cancel the registration of the political party.”

When reached for their comments, representatives of the NDC, the CPP and the PNC confirmed the story and said their auditors were working on them and that they would be submitted very soon.

Explaining further, the Communications Director of the NDC, Mr James Asante, told the Daily Graphic that the party’s auditors had completed their work and it would be submitted to the EC soon, while the General Secretary of the NPP, Mr Kwadwo Owusu-Afriyie, who was in the Northern Region, said he was aware that the party had been submitting its accounts over the years but added that if there was any such anomaly, the party would not hesitate in correcting it.

The General secretaries of the PNC and the CPP, Messrs Bernard Mornah and Ivor Kobina Greenstreet, respectively, gave the assurance that their auditors were putting finishing touches to the accounts and that they would be submitted to the EC in the shortest possible time.