In less than 24 hours, Ghana is heading to the polls for the crucial make-or-break presidential and parliamentary elections. Although a lot of issues have characterized the fiercely contested elections, a major standout of these issues is the problem of vote-buying.
The aftermath of the special voting which took place a few days ago is an indication that the issue of vote-buying might be rife in the main elections. Although many will agree that vote-buying undermines democracy and thwarts people’s free and independent choice in elections, one major impact that people have not averted their minds to is the social and economic cost of the act.
With elections a few hours away, The Highstreet Journal wants to shed light on the act of vote buying and its implications on the economy. This is aimed at enabling electorates to make informed and deliberate choices ahead of elections.
The Concept of Vote Buying
Vote buying is an age-hold arrangement where politicians or candidates offer cash, goods, and favours in an attempt to secure the votes of electorates in their favour. Historically, some political systems in some parts of the world allowed vote buying at a time in history.
For instance, during Chile’s “parliamentary period” prior to the reforms of 1925, political parties openly engaged in vote-buying outside polling stations. According to Millar Carvacho (1981), parties set up booths where they directly purchased votes from citizens with cash.
This practice became so entrenched that urban voters routinely sold their votes, creating a competitive marketplace for political influence. In some cases, candidates even placed printed advertisements promising to outbid their rivals in paying for votes.
Similarly, in the 1970s Palermo, the Christian Democratic Party exchanged public sector jobs, pasta, and shoes for votes. Judith Chubb observed that politics revolved around jobs as symbols of votes, with trucks of pasta and ballot facsimiles becoming campaign staples.
Brazil and other places across the world practiced voting buying at a point in time until the democratic, social, and economic implications led to reforms.
Ghana’s Case
Like many other places, vote buying has become a prominent feature of Ghana’s elections. Even in the full glare of journalists’ cameras, political actors and electorates have been captured distributing goodies and cash transfers in exchange for votes. The situation is even more prevalent in intra-party primaries where it has become the norm for candidates to even camp delegates overnight in order to secure their votes.
This has outrageously increased election spending in Ghana. For instance, the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) in a survey in 2021 updated in 2023 revealed that it will cost one person not less than GHC 1.5 billion (US$100 million) to win presidential elections in Ghana.
To win a parliamentary seat, CDD-Ghana estimates that one needs to spend about GHC 9 Million ($600,000). These outrageous budgets, the CDD says are spent on “cultivating the constituency”, organizing primaries, investing in capital goods, development projects, and campaigning till the voting day. However, many of the activities are not unaccounted for in official campaign financing reports.
The Economic Implications
Analysts as well as institutions such as the World Bank agree that there is an economic cost associated with this transactional process of securing votes with goodies, contracts, positions, and cash transfers. Let’s explore some hidden economic costs of vote buying;
Widens Inequality/Poverty Gap: Extensive research has proven that vote buying mostly thrives in economies with low levels of literacy and higher poverty levels. Politicians take advantage of the situation by offering short-term relief to voters in order to secure their votes.
They abandon the long-term development which will lift the masses from poverty but wait till elections to take advantage of their plight and offer immediate benefits to secure votes and then the cycle continues.
Promotion of Illicit Financial Flows: To be able to secure votes during elections, there are pieces of evidence to suggest that some politicians engage in illicit financial trade and illegal activities such as galamsey to mobilize resources for elections.
This situation has a lot of economic and financial impact since the illicit financial flow denies the economy the needed taxes and also leads to the depreciation of the currency as confirmed by the former Auditor-General of Ghana, Daniel Yao Domeleve just this week.
Undermines Private Sector Confidence: Investors look for stable and transparent governance as a precondition for investment. When elections are marred by vote buying, it signals a lack of accountability and governance, discouraging both local and foreign investments. Some literature suggests that the decline in foreign direct investment inflows to Ghana is partly a result of some of these political and electoral concerns that lack transparency.
Fosters Corruption: Vote buying as well as huge electoral expenses has been found to foster corruption. With the existence of the possibility to win elections through vote buying, elected public officials amass wealth for themselves in waiting for the next elections.
Funds meant for development are mostly dissipated through corrupt deals and misuse. Studies have shown that vote buying correlates with higher levels of corruption, where public funds are diverted from productive sectors, leading to inefficiencies and stunted economic growth.
It is, therefore, safe to say that the underdevelopment in your community has a link to vote buying as politicians are taking the electorates for granted by just offering short-term benefits during elections at the expense of long-term goals.
As Ghana goes to the polls tomorrow, every voter must remember that the hidden costs of vote buying stretch far beyond the immediate transactions, affecting national development, economic stability, and social equity.
Voters must remember that the choices made at the ballot box have far-reaching consequences. Accepting money or favors in exchange for votes may seem like a harmless act, but it sets the stage for poor governance, economic mismanagement, and corruption.
The cost of vote buying isn’t just monetary, it’s a direct threat to the country’s democratic and economic future. If Ghana is to achieve sustainable development and prosperity, voters must reject this practice and hold political leaders accountable for delivering real, measurable progress.
