OccupyGhana hands Parliament draft bill to criminalise vote-buying in party primaries

The pressure group OccupyGhana has escalated its long-running campaign against electoral corruption by submitting to Parliament a fully drafted Bill that would for the first time make vote-buying, bribery, and intimidation in internal party elections specific criminal offences triable by the Special Prosecutor.

In a letter dated February 11, 2026, addressed to Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga and Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin, the group transmitted the draft Criminal Offences (Amendment) (Internal Political Party Elections) Bill, 2026, and formally invited the leaders of the House to jointly sponsor it as a Private Members' Bill.

The move transforms more than two years of advocacy—spanning letters in October 2023 and February 2026—into concrete legislative text. 

"Internal party elections are not private matters," the letter states. "They determine who leads political parties at every level and, critically, who ultimately presents themselves to the Ghanaian electorate as candidates for public office. When corruption takes root at this formative stage, the integrity of national elections is compromised even before the public casts a single ballot."

The draft Bill, accompanied by a detailed six-page Explanatory Memorandum, is technically intricate. It proposes simultaneous amendments to four separate statutes: the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29); the Representation of the People Act, 1992 (PNDCL 284); the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act, 2017 (Act 969); and the Vigilantism and Related Offences Act, 2019 (Act 999).

At the heart of the proposed reform is a redefinition of the term "public election" for the purposes of criminal law. Currently, section 3(5) of the Criminal Offences Act ties the definition to Article 49 of the Constitution, a framing that has been interpreted as excluding party primaries, congresses, and internal executive elections. The Bill would repeal that provision and insert a new section 259 that explicitly includes "any election, primary, congress, conference or other voting process conducted by a registered political party" for the purpose of selecting officers or nominating candidates for President and Parliament.

The drafters have gone to considerable lengths to insulate the Bill from anticipated constitutional challenge. "Nothing in this section shall be construed as conferring constitutional status on elections conducted by political parties," the proposed subsection 4 declares. The Explanatory Memorandum devotes multiple sections to distinguishing between constitutional "public elections" and the statutory definition proposed, arguing that Parliament is entitled to define terms for the limited purposes of criminal legislation.

A second major pillar of the Bill is the transfer of prosecutorial authority. It proposes to repeal section 42 of the Representation of the People Act, which requires the Attorney-General's written fiat for prosecutions, and instead vest "primary" authority to investigate and prosecute electoral offences in the Office of the Special Prosecutor. The Bill would amend the OSP's enabling act to explicitly include sections 255 to 259 of the Criminal Offences Act and sections 27 to 42 of the Representation of the People Act within the definition of "corruption and corruption-related offences."

The Memorandum argues that "independent prosecution is essential to avoid real or perceived conflicts of interest and to enhance public confidence in enforcement." It further asserts that the allocation of specialised prosecutorial regimes to the OSP does not derogate from the Attorney-General's constitutional powers under Article 88.

The letter frames the invitation as an act of cross-partisan statesmanship. "A united initiative from all the sides of the House would send a clear and powerful message that the protection of Ghana's democracy rises above party interest," it reads. The group states it remains ready to provide technical assistance to facilitate the Bill's refinement and passage.

As with its previous correspondence, OccupyGhana has copied the communication widely: to the Speaker and Deputy Speakers, the Attorney-General and his deputies, the full complement of majority and minority whips, the Electoral Commission Chair, the Special Prosecutor, and all media houses.