Mary Awelana Addah is Executive Director of Ghana Integrity Initiative
The Executive Director of Ghana Integrity Initiative, Mary Awelana Addah, has stressed the urgent need for transparency and accountability in political campaign financing in Ghana.
According to her, the high cost of elections fuels both licit and illicit funding, creating significant risks for corruption.
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“The fight against corruption, I believe, without a doubt at all, is incumbent on resolving the issue around political financing, particularly where monies come from to ensure the prosecution of the various campaigns by the political parties and also by the various candidates,” Mary Addah stated in an interview on TV3 and monitored by GhanaWeb on Thursday, October 16, 2025.
Addah further explained the difficulties faced by civil society actors entering politics.
“If I had the opportunity to stand for elections… where am I getting that money from? People would have to give me. And the challenge is the fact that we do not have a clear regime in place to ensure accountability for what people are giving us,” she noted.
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Mary Addah called for stronger legal frameworks, public disclosure, and institutional oversight.
“The Political Parties Act is not clear enough. If you give, like in the American system, it will be reflected in a system where everybody would know how much is being given. We need a vehicle to document and share with the people of Ghana how much, for instance, the NDC or NPP is raising for their campaigns.
“Public officers should not have secrets. If somebody is giving you money, why don’t you want us to know who it is and how much it is? The accountability of parties and candidates should be one critical component we all seek. Whoever is overseeing this must ensure the people of Ghana are informed at every point in time,” she added.
JKB/AE
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