Regulation and Implementation of Party Funding in Burkina Faso and Ghana: A Comparative Study

• Author: Sonia Vohito-Anyanwu
• DOI: 10.25159/2522-6800/8371
• Published date: 01 December 2021
• Date: 01 December 2021
• Pages: 1-18

Article

Southern African Public Law

https://doi.org/10.25159/2522-6800/8371

https://upjournals.co.za/index.php/SAPL

ISSN 2522-6800 (Online), 2219-6412 (Print)

Volume 36 | Number 1 | 2021 | #8371 | 18 pages

© Unisa Press 2021

Regulation and Implementation of Party Funding in

Burkina Faso and Ghana: A Comparative Study

Sonia Vohito

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0463-6762

University of Pretoria, South Africa

vohito@yahoo.co.uk

Abstract

There has been considerable momentum to address the issue of party finance

and political corruption across the world, including in Africa; this is because

political parties require funds to properly function and to actively participate in

elections. This article will review the system of regulation and implementation

of party funding in two West African countries, namely Burkina Faso and

Ghana, and it will examine how financing of political parties is regulated and

the impact on rule of law and good governance in both countries. Whether they

have access to public or private funds, it appears that small political parties in

Burkina Faso and Ghana continue to face challenges which ultimately affect

their ability to function properly and to actively participate in elections. The

article therefore submits that the phenomenon of party funding regulation in

Burkina Faso and Ghana is a process in development which needs reinforcing

in order to be fair and inclusive.

Keywords: party funding; Ghana; Burkina Faso; constitutions; public funds; private

funds

Vohito

2

Introduction

Political parties are critical components of modern democracies. They are expected to

reflect citizens’ concerns

1

and aspirations and enable them to influence and participate

in public affairs. This paper places an emphasis on one of the key areas relating to the

essence of political parties in modern democracies: the financing of political parties.

2

In

contemporary politics, money is a critical resource for political parties to operate,

mainly by organising their campaigns, and growing the number of their voters. As

Butler posits, money is essential to the operation of any democracy.

3

Party funding

regulation is therefore expected to promote citizens’ trust in politics and in political

parties in particular.

4

Hatchard argues that regulation of party financing is essential

because the nature and modality of funding of candidates and political parties can be

detrimental to political life.

5

Indeed, even though it is widely accepted that political

parties require financing, it is equally acknowledged that non-transparent financing may

‘discourage participation in political parties and encourage cynicism’.

6

Regulation of

the funding of political parties and candidates is, therefore, an essential tool in working

against political corruption.

7

Based on existing national frameworks, this article will

examine the system of regulation of party funding in two West African countries,

namely Burkina Faso and Ghana. The article will review regional and international

instruments on political party financing. It will also analyse relevant African case laws

and key concepts in relation to party funding and its sources, with a view to discuss the

challenges faced by the two countries in this regard. Burkina Faso and Ghana are both

members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and have

both ratified major international and regional human rights instruments. They are

currently considered multiparty constitutional democracies characterised by multiparty

elections, political competitiveness and political alternation. Burkina Faso and Ghana

present different specificities in terms of party funding. For instance, in 2012, following

an advocacy mission

8

of the African Union Advisory Board on Corruption

1

International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, International Obligations for

Elections, Guidelines for Legal Frameworks (International IDEA 2014) 82.

2

International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, Political Parties in Africa: Challenges

for Sustained Multiparty Democracy (International IDEA 2008) 19.

3

Anthony Butler (ed), Paying for Politics: Party funding and Political Change in South Africa and the

Global South (Jacana Media 2010) 1.

4

International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, Funding of Political Parties and

Election Campaigns: A Handbook on Political Finance (International IDEA 2014) 2.

5

John Hatchard, Combating Corruption: Legal Approaches to Supporting Good Governance and

Integrity in Africa (Edward Elgar Publishing 2014) 59.

6

Shari Bryan and Denise Baer (eds), Money in Politics: A Study of Party Financing in 22 Countries

(National Democratic Institute for International Affairs 2005) 7.

7

Political corruption is defined as a situation of conflict between the personal interests of a decision -

maker in the private and public sector and those of the entity that he or she serves. See Zwelethu Jolobe,

‘Financing the ANC: Chancellor House, Eskom and the Dilemmas of Party Finance Reform’ in Butler

(n 3) 206.

8

Report of the African Union Advisory Board on Corruption Advocacy Mission to the Republic of

Ghana on Implementation of the African Union Convention on Corruption.