Private legal practitioner Professor Stephen Kwaku Asare, popularly known as Kwaku Azar, has weighed in on the ongoing anti-delegate system lawsuit, describing it as a major test of Ghana’s democracy.
According to him, the case goes beyond party politics and raises critical questions about who truly controls political power in the country.
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“The anti-delegate lawsuit is bigger than party politics. At its core, it asks a simple but profound question: Does political power belong to the people or to the ‘big men’ who control party structures?” he wrote in a piece on Facebook on Wednesday, May 27, 2026.
Kwaku Azar argued that Ghana’s current delegate system gives excessive influence to a small group of party executives, financiers and political gatekeepers who often decide who becomes a presidential or parliamentary candidate.
“We all know that the current system encourages patronage, money politics, delegate inducements, and elite control. The ordinary voter is largely reduced to endorsing poor choices already made by insiders,” he stated.
He stressed that democracy should not only begin during national elections, insisting that the process of selecting candidates is equally important.
“The most important political decision is often who gets selected in the first place,” he said.
The legal practitioner further made a case for allowing all voters to voluntarily declare their party preference and take part in presidential and parliamentary primaries.
“That is why there is a powerful democratic case for allowing every voter to voluntarily declare party preference and use that as the basis for participating in presidential and parliamentary primaries,” he explained.
According to him, such a move would reduce elite influence, expand participation and compel politicians to focus more on citizens instead of delegates.
“Such a system would weaken elite capture, reduce ‘big man’ politics, expand participation, strengthen legitimacy, and force politicians to appeal to citizens rather than merely courting delegates,” he added.
However, Kwaku Azar also questioned reports that the proposed reforms may still limit participation to party members considered to be “in good standing.”
“Who decides who is in good standing? And based on what?” he asked.
He warned that democracy could still be controlled by party elites if participation depends on internal approval.
“Once participation depends on internal approval, democracy risks becoming permission-based. The power to decide who qualifies to vote can become just as important as the power to count the votes,” he stated.
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Kwaku Azar concluded by saying the positions political parties take on the issue will reveal how they truly understand democracy.
“Whether they believe power belongs to ordinary citizens, or whether democracy ends once power reaches the hands of party elites. Their answer can render them irrelevant,” he added.
MAG/EB
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