Proposals for a serving vice president to resign after being elected to lead a political party into a presidential election have been rejected by three political scientists.

Although the experts agree that the problem of abuse of office needs to be addressed, they also argue that not all issues require legislation in order to be enforced.

Political scientists Drs. John Osae-Kwapong, Samuel Kofi Darkwa, and Gilbert Arhinful Aidoo discussed their opinions with the Daily Graphic regarding recommendations made by Hassan Ayariga, the leader of the All People’s Congress (APC), that a constitutional instrument (CI) require a vice president to resign from office if elected to the presidency and appoint a new vice president to take his or her place.

Setting
According to Mr. Ayariga, the vice president in office would be abdicating his or her job and would be using public funds and federal resources to pursue a presidential bid.

He clarified that the resignation of the vice president in office who is currently running for president will advance electoral integrity and justice.

Abuse of Authority
According to Dr. Osae-Kwapong, “I do not agree that a sitting Vice-President must be mandated by law to relinquish his position in cases where they become a presidential candidate,” even though the abuse of incumbency must be addressed and curbed.

He said, “In the same way, one cannot demand that a sitting president who is running for reelection step down due to the possibility of abuse of office.”

He stated that in order to solve the issue of misuse of office, the candidate in such circumstances should bear the financial cost rather than the state.

“Any activity that is found to be a campaign activity but that required the use of state resources (security, transportation, etc.) must be paid back.

He emphasized that there should be no difficulty in doing this because it is always clear what constitutes fulfilling incumbent duties and canvassing for votes.

The Democracy Project’s Project Director, Dr. Osae-Kwapong, stated that party and campaign financing laws must be followed.

The degree of openness around the financing of campaigns makes it possible to identify any improper use of public funds. Additionally, it serves to calm public worries about the unethical use of public resources by a sitting vice president, the speaker said.

He pointed out that development could not cease and that there was little that could be done about the projects that incumbents were implementing during election year.

However, these development initiatives must not unfairly benefit the current administration. Voters in these instances will determine whether or not to reward an incumbent for their last-minute development efforts, he stated.

Stopping mistreatment
Dr. Darkwa, for his part, stated that it was imperative to proceed cautiously when drafting law and to refrain from applying it to every problem facing our country.

Thus, he argued, it was critical to concentrate on stopping the misuse of power by individuals in positions of authority, which was a major issue in Ghana and many other developing nations and nascent democracies.

“We also need to take into account the disadvantage of being in office longer than many governments in developed democracies suffer in their subsequent terms.

“In my view, the major opposition faces less incumbency disadvantage than the current administration because of crucial problems that voters care about, such as food security, corruption, unemployment rates, and the economy. Dr. Darkwa noted that these elements might have a big influence on the government’s ability to hold onto power.

Participating in the conversation, Mr. Aidoo, a lecturer in political science at the University of Education, Winneba, stated that the nation should instead concentrate on establishing the necessary safeguards to prevent political leaders from misusing public funds for their own benefit.

“It is important that we take proactive steps to avoid instances where there could be a conflict of interest, particularly when it comes to current presidents and vice presidents. One such step should be to prohibit them from using federal funds for political personal campaigns.

In order to maintain justice and strengthen public confidence, he added, “we should also strive to provide fair and level playing fields for all candidates in an election.”

According to Mr. Aidoo, demonetization of elections was necessary to deter officialdom from abusing state resources.

He said, “Serious punishments may serve as a deterrent to others. Such punishments may include dismissal, prosecution, and surcharges for any incumbent politician who may steal from the nation for personal campaign and other gains.”

According to him, any illegal attempt to force a sitting president or vice president to resign in order to run for office might potentially have an adverse effect on political dynamics, administrative disturbances, and constitutional difficulties. \

Dr. John Osae-Kwapong is the project director of the Democracy Project. Dr. Samuel Kofi Darkwa is a political scientist. Gilbert Arhinful Aidoo is a political science lecturer at UEW.