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Ghana, Togo parties advocate State
funding of political parties
Accra, April 4, GNA - Leading political parties from Ghana
and Togo on Wednesday stressed the need for political
parties to be financed by the State in order to create a
level playing field for effective participation in the
governance processes.
Speaking at a press conference in Accra at the end of a
two-day follow-up meeting, Brigadier-General Francis A.
Agyemfra (rtd), Senior Fellow, Institute of Economic Affairs
(IEA), said the meeting enabled participants to affirm their
commitment to harness the energies of the participating
political parties in both countries.
He noted that solutions to some of the problems in
multi-party democracy could be found through consensus
building and a clear definition of roles for all
stakeholders.
Brigadier-General Agyemfra (rtd) said the meeting
acknowledged the merits of concerted efforts from political
parties in both countries towards achieving democratic
governance in the West African Sub-Region and agreed to
ensure free, fair and credible elections in both countries.
He said participants agreed to continue using the Permanent
Consultative Conference of Chairpersons of Political Parties
of Ghana and Togo to sustain the spirit and commitment
demonstrated at the meeting.
Nana Ohene Ntow, General Secretary of the New Patriotic
Party (NPP), said the meeting marked a political milestone
since it enabled participants to entrench the principles and
practices of multi-party democracy.
He said there was general agreement among participants that
multi-party democracy had proved to be the best and that his
party would adhere to the principles and practices such as
transparency, protection of individual rights and
accountability.
Alhaji Ahmed Ramadan, a representative of the People’s
National Convention (PNC), said the meeting helped to close
the gap that existed between the two countries.
“The ultimate objective of politics is that you have to be
able to carry everybody along”, he said.
The two-day joint consultative meeting brought together six
leading Togolese and four Ghanaian political parties.
Participants deliberated on issues such as the role of
political parties, civil society and the youth in ensuring
peaceful elections, consensus building in multi-party
democracy, prospects for the sustenance of multi-party
democracy in both countries.
The meeting was under the theme; “Political Parties as
Vibrant Actors in a Multi-Party Democracy”.
It was organized by the IEA with support from the
Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy (NIMD).
GNA
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