Plans by the EC to revoke 17 political parties' registrations are apt - Gyampo.

 17 political parties have been notified that the Electoral Commission (EC) will cancel their registrations if they don't respond in writing and provide a justification for their continued existence on the electoral roll.

All 17 of the political parties mentioned do not, in accordance with the Act governing political parties, have national and regional offices, according to the electoral administration authority.

Professor Ransford Gyampo, a political science lecturer at the University of Ghana, responded to the action by urging all parties involved to support the Electoral Commission in its efforts to carry out its regulatory role.

"Democracy is expensive, so if you have political parties worth their salt, they satisfy all the standards that make them political parties, and they claim we have multi-party democracy, then they should all be on the ballot papers if we have the resources," the speaker said.

"Therefore, the necessity to sever relations with these parties shouldn't be due to their high maintenance costs, but rather the fact that they are election machines rather than political parties. The EC may rely on specific provisions of the Political Parties Act to revoke their registration, and if they object, they may file a lawsuit, he said.

The EC conducted a statewide effort to check the offices of all Ghanaian political parties that were registered between May and June 2022.

However, following the exercise, the EC acted in accordance with Section 15(3)(c) of the Political Parties Act of 2000, Act 574, which requires it to revoke the registration of Political Parties that lack offices at the national and regional levels.

Affected political parties are:

1. Democratic People’s Party (DPP)
2. United Front Party (UFP)
3. United Development System Party (UDSP)
4. Every Ghanaian Living Everywhere (EGLE)
5. Yes People’s Party (YPP)
6. United Ghana Movement (UGM)
7. Democratic Freedom Party (DFP)
8. New Vision Party (NVP)
9. Ghana Democratic-Republican Party (GDRP)
10. Ghana National Party (GNP)
11. Power Unity Party (PUP)
12. United Progressive Party (UPP)
13. Reform Patriotic Democrats (RPD)
14. People’s Action Party (PAP)
15. United Renaissance Party (URP)
16. National Reform Party (NRP)
17. United Love Party (ULP)