Accra: The Director of Legal Affairs of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Gary Nimako Marfo, has raised concerns about the financial implications of the Supreme Court's ruling scrapping the delegate system used by political parties to elect their presidential and parliamentary candidates.
According to Ghana Web, his comments come after the Supreme Court declared the delegate system unconstitutional and directed all political parties to implement a system that allows every member in good standing to participate in their internal primaries within one year. Speaking in an interview on The Point of View on Channel One TV on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, Gary Nimako Marfo said political parties are voluntary organizations governed by their own constitutions and have traditionally financed their internal electoral processes through party funds, donations, sponsorships, and contributions from aspirants.
He noted that even under the existing delegate system, political parties incur considerable expenses in organizing internal elections, with the cost shared among the parties and other stakeholders. According to him, allowing every card-bearing member in good standing to vote in party primaries would significantly increase the financial burden on political parties.
Nimako Marfo questioned how the order of the court would be enforced if political parties are unable to raise sufficient funds to organize such elections. He further argued that the judgment leaves critical questions unanswered, particularly regarding who will bear the cost of conducting nationwide direct primaries. He emphasized that elections are costly and questioned whether the state or the political parties would fund them.
He stressed that judicial decisions must be capable of practical implementation and insisted that court directives should not create situations that are impossible to execute. Gary Nimako Marfo added that there is still no clear explanation as to how political parties, particularly those with limited financial capacity, are expected to fund the expanded electoral process required under the Supreme Court's directive.