Civil society pressure group OccupyGhana has renewed its call for Ghana to criminalise vote buying in intra-party elections, warning that the growing practice poses a “grave and growing threat” to democratic accountability and political integrity.
In a formal letter dated February 9, 2026, addressed to the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Dr Dominic Ayine, Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga and Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin, the group urged urgent legislative reforms to close what it described as a dangerous loophole in Ghana’s electoral framework.
OccupyGhana recalled that it first raised the issue in an October 9, 2023 correspondence, but said developments since then have made the matter more urgent and unmistakable.
“The increasing normalisation of vote buying within internal party elections poses a grave and growing threat to democratic accountability, political integrity and equal participation,” the group stated.
While national elections are governed by clear laws against electoral corruption, OccupyGhana argued that the absence of explicit criminal sanctions for vote buying in party primaries has allowed the practice to flourish unchecked, undermining democracy “from within”.
The group stressed that internal party elections are central—not incidental—to Ghana’s democratic process, as they determine who eventually appears on the ballot for public office.
“Intra-party elections are not peripheral political activities; they are decisive mechanisms through which candidates for public office are selected,” the letter said.
“When these processes are distorted by financial inducements and material incentives, merit, competence and genuine representation are displaced by monetary influence.”
According to OccupyGhana, tolerating vote buying at the party level entrenches corruption at its earliest stages, compromises leadership selection, and ultimately erodes public trust in democratic institutions.
The group is calling on Parliament and the Ministry of Justice to initiate reforms that would explicitly define and criminalise vote buying in intra-party elections, backed by “effective sanctions and credible enforcement mechanisms”.
Significantly, OccupyGhana proposed that any new offences should fall under the jurisdiction of the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), rather than the Attorney-General’s Department.
“Vote buying in intra-party elections constitutes corruption and an abuse of public trust, matters that fall squarely within the statutory mandate of the OSP,” the letter argued.
The group maintained that because such offences are inherently political, prosecution by an independent body is essential to avoid real or perceived conflicts of interest and to strengthen public confidence in enforcement.
“The OSP’s specialised focus and expertise in corruption-related offences position it to ensure more rigorous investigation, consistent enforcement, and a meaningful deterrent against electoral corruption,” OccupyGhana added.
The letter said criminalising intra-party vote buying would send a strong signal that corruption has no place in Ghana’s democracy—whether at the national level or within the internal processes that produce political leaders.
“It would make clear that corruption, whether occurring at the national stage or within the internal processes that feed into it, has no place in Ghana’s constitutional democracy,” the group said.
OccupyGhana asked to be informed of steps already taken or proposed in response to the call and invited opportunities for citizens and civil society to support “effective and lasting reform”.
