The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) has announced the organization of a debate among some of the political parties intending to contest in the upcoming 2024 elections.
This debate, according to the IEA, is essential for voters to critically assess both presidential and vice-presidential candidates, thereby enabling informed decision-making.
The call for debates comes amidst ongoing disagreements between the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) regarding the necessity of holding such debates.
Professor Alexander Bilson Darku, a senior fellow at the IEA, emphasized the importance of these debates in an interview with Citi News. He revealed that preliminary engagements have already commenced with various political parties to ensure a debate is held before the December 7 elections.
“Let me make this very clear from the beginning. The need for debate is the right of the people. The people of Ghana ought to know what their presidential candidate, and for that matter, the party they represent, have in stock for them,” Professor Darku stated. He added, “We are at a very early stage now, talking to them [the political parties]. We have our timetable, and very soon, it will be known to the public as to the programme that the IEA has outlined to make this all-important presidential debate come on.”
Professor Darku assured that the debates would be scheduled at a time beneficial for both the participating parties and the nation. He refrained from delving into specific details but affirmed that the timing would be advantageous.
Additionally, Professor Darku mentioned that the selection of participating parties and candidates would follow the Afrobarometer criteria.
“It has established a threshold, and we will use that threshold to invite the parties that meet the threshold to participate in the debate. This might be four or five parties, and their presidential candidates and vice-presidential candidates will be invited to participate in the debate.”