•CDD-Ghana has said the political space in Ghana has been monetized
• A study by CDD-Ghana revealed that a presidential election cost about US$100 million to win
•Parliamentary candidate will also need not less than GHC4 million
Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) has revealed that it will cost not less than US$100 million to win a presidential election in Ghana.
This was shared by a representative of CDD-Ghana, Saadija Shiraz, during an engagement with the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and some political parties.
The study also showed that parliamentarians also need at least GHC4 million.
Speaking in an interview with Asaase News, she said “in 2021 a study was conducted by CDD to assess the extent to which illicit and illegal money move into our politics, and as part of the findings, the study sought to determine how much the cost of politics was.
“In the current estimate per this statement, running for Parliament was GHC4 million, out of this amount two million is dedicated towards nurturing constituencies and the other two million is after the securing of the candidature position,” Shiraz said.
“And for the cost for running for president, the study estimated that the most viable sum of money that a person who needed to run for president was US$100 million… this is why we need to engage in conversations more to reform the state of monetisation of Ghana’s politics,” she added.
This revelation, Saadija Shiraz said, shows how Ghana’s political space has been monetized.
He added that this needs to be addressed to ensure politics is not limited to only those who can afford it.