Former Speaker of Parliament, Professor Aaron Mike Oquaye, has sharply condemned the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) decision to charge GH¢4 million from prospective flagbearer aspirants, calling it “a suicidal pathway” that undermines the foundation of democracy.

The party stalwart argued that the policy turns internal elections into an auction, warning that “a political party is not for sale.”

“The GH¢4 million so-called development fee is a bubonic plague. Moneycracy is not democracy, and a political party must not be seen to be pursuing that pathway,” Prof. Oquaye cautioned in an interview with Daily Graphic.

Under the current arrangement, NPP presidential aspirants are to pay GH¢100,000 for nomination forms, GH¢500,000 for filing, and an additional GH¢4 million as a development levy intended to support party structures.

Critics, including several party insiders, argue that the high fee is designed to sideline less resourced aspirants and tilt the race in favour of those with significant financial muscle.

Prof. Oquaye, who chaired the 12-member committee that probed the NPP’s 2024 electoral defeat, warned that the policy could erode public trust and dent Ghana’s democratic image.

“This is now a national concern. Under the 1992 Constitution, political parties must conduct their internal affairs in line with democratic principles,” he emphasised.

He urged the party’s leadership to urgently review the fee structure, describing it as “unreasonable, undemocratic, and contrary to the party’s founding values.”