Elections 2004 (Results) - Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Ghana Office

The 2004 Presidential and Parliamentary Elections
The recommendations made by the participants at the 2003 national forum included:
How the fund should be raised?
• The State should be the major source of the fund: state support should consist of
seed money and annual budgetary allocations.
• Ghana’s development partners, corporate bodies and individuals could make
contributions to the fund.
• The funds should be raised through an increase in Value Added Tax
• The Government should encourage voluntary contribution by making such
donations non-taxable.
• Industries should be encouraged to contribute to the fund openly, so as to
eliminate underhand private donations.
What should the fund cover?
State funding should be used to cover:
• Direct and verifiable operational /administrative expenses of political parties.
• Core election expenses of presidential and parliamentary candidates although
a predetermined financial ceiling should be set.
• Expenses incurred for election campaigns that are wholly and necessarily incurred
by political parties should be reimbursed.
• Political research work, which is essential but expensive, could be funded as a joint
activity for all parties under the fund
• Political educational campaign for their members, especially in the rural areas,
where access to mass media systems are limited.
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