A law lecturer at the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) Law School, Ishaq Ibrahim, has called on Ghana’s two major political parties to broaden participation in their flagbearer elections and give ordinary members a direct say in choosing who leads them into national contests.
Speaking on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana on Wednesday, September 17, 2025, Isaq Ibrahim said the current system, where a relatively small group of delegates selects a party’s presidential candidate, is outdated and undermines internal democracy.
“For me it is an anomaly that even up to… since 1992 when we came to the Fourth Republic up to now it is still a small number of people who even have to decide the flagbearer,” he said.
He added, “For me the time is right for both the NDC and the NPP to allow members of their party to vote.”
Isaq Ibrahim welcomed the NPP’s decision to expand its electoral college, describing it as a move in the right direction.
“I think the party by expanding this are moving towards there,” he said, urging the party to see the change as part of a wider democratic reform.
He argued that party executives have the democratic mandate to supervise the process and that an expanded base of voters would give any elected flagbearer a stronger claim to legitimacy.
“Those current executives have the democratic legitimacy. They have the mandate … and they shouldn’t forget that it is not just these executives that the flagbearer need more or less to command or respect. Almost every member of the party,” he said.
While acknowledging that disagreements over timing and process are inevitable, the UPSA Law lecturer encouraged the parties to allow open discussion and criticism as they adapt to the new model.
“Change is difficult and that’s why people will always talk. What I will urge the party to do is give them the freedom to discuss, to criticize,” he said.
