The National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, has said that Ghana’s democracy is under threat because the cost of running for Parliament now far outweighs the earnings of legislators.

In a television interview with Channel One TV on Tuesday [August 26, 2025], Mr Asiedu Nketiah said the rising monetisation of politics has turned elections into an investment scheme, with candidates viewing public office as a way to recover expenses rather than serve the people.

“The cost of entering Parliament now exceeds what an MP can make in four years on the job. If politics becomes an investment, then the politician must recover that money, and that is where corruption begins,” he stated.

The NDC chairman added that vote-buying has become central to elections at both the parliamentary and presidential levels, describing it as “modern-day slavery.” He argued that citizens who accept inducements during campaigns lose the moral right to demand accountability from those they elect.

“If you sell your vote, you sell your freedom. After that, you cannot hold the MP accountable because you already collected your share,” Mr Asiedu Nketiah said.

His remarks reflect long-standing concerns by civil society organisations and election observers, who have warned that the high cost of politics is eroding Ghana’s democratic progress.

A 2020 study by the Westminster Foundation for Democracy estimated that a parliamentary candidate required nearly US$85,000 to mount a viable campaign, an amount more than ten times the official annual salary of an MP.

Mr Asiedu Nketiah said the solution lies in both law and public education. He called for stricter campaign finance rules and a sustained national discussion on the dangers of monetised politics. “Without strong laws and civic education, we are breeding a political class that must steal to survive,” he cautioned.

His warning comes ahead of a by-election in Akwatia, where the NDC and the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) have already traded accusations of voter inducement. 

Mr Nketiah also urged leaders of all political parties to “lead by example” by rejecting inducements and ensuring that primaries are not decided by the highest bidder.

He stressed that tackling the issue is not a partisan agenda but one of national survival.

“This is bigger than NDC or NPP. If we allow money to take over politics, only the rich will rule, and they will rule for themselves,” he warned.