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The period from 1992 saw Ghana, under pressure from both internal and external sources, embark on the transition to democratic rule. Despite the strides, an issue that has the potential to undermine Ghana’s liberal democratic credentials has centred on the process of political party financing. The purpose of this paper is to analyse how the existing political party financing system in Ghana is negatively impacting on electoral competition and the country’s democratic process. Drawing on secondary sources, this paper shows that, given that it is political resources that drive party vibrancy and competitiveness, a level playing field in terms of public financing of political parties can help in electoral competition and the promotion of the democratic process in Ghana. However, the importance of transparency and accountability, as well as a legal framework that monitors, denounces, sanctions and punishes abuse in the use of public funds, would be crucial if success is to be attained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Civil Society and many youth activists were elated when the youth, those aged between 21 and 40 years, were given prominence in Ghana’s parliament after the 2012 elections. Indeed, as many as 44 young people were elected during Ghana’s 2012 Parliamentary Elections. Prior to this, the number of young people in Ghana’s parliament was negligible. In view of the demographic advantage of the youth and their invaluable contributions to Ghana’s political history, there have been incessant calls for their representation and an eventual return to the days of the 1950s when politics was dominated by the youth. The outcome of the 2012 Parliamentary Elections was therefore hailed as unprecedented and described by many as a giant step towards youth representation in national decision making. However, a survey of all the young parliamentarians and some 4400 young people carefully selected through purposive sampling provides the basis for this paper’s thesis that the growth in the number of young people in Ghana’s parliament does not necessarily guarantee youth representation in national decision making; rather, it promotes tokenism, exclusivity and co-optation of the youth into decision-making structures of state. The study makes practical recommendations to create a relationship between youth in Ghana’s parliament and youth representation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]