The Executive Director of the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD), Professor Henry Kwesi Prempeh, has criticised the Electoral Commission (EC) for inadequate vetting of presidential candidates for the 2024 elections.

In September 2024, the EC announced that 13 out of 24 applicants had been cleared to contest in the December 7 polls.

However, Prof Prempeh argues that some of these candidates should not have been approved, stating that the number could have been reduced with better scrutiny.

Speaking at a public lecture marking the first anniversary of the late Anthony Akoto Ampaw, he questioned why similar patterns occur every election cycle, alleging that many of these candidates serve as proxies for the two major political parties—NPP and NDC—to influence decision-making at the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC).

“There are 13 or so people on the ballot, and I think if the Electoral Commission was more diligent and scrupulous, there would be fewer.

"One has to wonder why we keep having these numbers when most of these political parties do not meet the requirements. But there is folklore about why it is that way. It is basically because they are proxies of one of these two political parties to influence decision-making at IPAC,” he said.

Prof. Prempeh also criticised the leading political parties for failing to present clear solutions to the nation’s economic crisis.

He noted that while Ghana is experiencing its first-ever sovereign debt default, with IMF supervision and domestic investment losses, election campaigns remain focused on promises rather than addressing the core issues.

“You wouldn’t know any of this if you followed the candidates in their song-and-dance campaigns. What you continue to hear are promises designed to win elections, not discussions on how to break the stranglehold of Eurobond debt or the habit of IMF recidivism,” he added.