The Electoral, Commission (EC) has observed that some of the political parties in the country cannot live up to the requirements of the Political Parties Law without state support. It has, therefore, reiterated the need for legislation that will provide an enabling environment for the political parties to grow and fulfil their responsibilities under the law. Arguing that such state intervention was critical for the parties to meet the requirements of the Political Parties Law, the Director of Human Resource and General Services of the EC, Mr Samuel Yorke Aidoo, said such legislation would have to address the need for state sponsorship of political parties to ensure their sustenance and the development of the country's democracy. He said many of the political parties, both small and big, were struggling to live up to the requirements of the law but the EC had been cautious in applying sanctions on them because there was "no enabling environment" for the parties to do so. The Political Parties Law, 2000 (Act 574) enjoins political parties to, among other requirements, establish national and regional offices, operate in not less than two-thirds of the total number of districts in the country, update the EC on their resources and sources of funding and submit their audited accounts to the EC. The EC, as an oversight body, is mandated by the law to sanction political parties that fail to comply with the law. However, Mr Aidoo said the inability of the EC to apply sanctions against the defaulting parties was because it found such action morally untenable, given the weakness of some of the political parties. "Our inability to act is borne out of the recognition that many of the political parties cannot generate funds to operate throughout the year. Stretching our full arm of authority will not be in the interest of the nation," he noted. Mr Aidoo said many of the political parties, including the big ones, had often complained about the lack of resources to enable them to function effectively, adding that there was the need for state support for the parties to enable them to live up to the responsibilities imposed by the law. He said it would be morally unfair to sanction a party such as the Democratic People's Party (DPP) for not living up to the requirements of the law, considering the fact that the DPP had participated in almost every bye election, even in instances when some big parties had opted out. Mr Aidoo said in that respect it was important to acknowledge and commend the DPP, instead of imposing sanctions on it for not being able to fulfil the requirements of the law, a failure that was largely the result of the lack of an enabling environment to live up to expectation. He said the EC, being an independent body insulated from any control, could not be compelled by anybody to sanction defaulting political parties, except a court of competent jurisdiction. Mr Aidoo said for now, the commission would act in accordance with what it deemed fit as tenable and in the national interest. He dismissed a suggestion that the EC's failure to sanction defaulting political parties could encourage the mushrooming of political parties, explaining that the stringent conditions and processes involved in forming a political party would not permit the proliferation of parties. Mr Aidoo said the application process, granting of a provisional certificate, verification of founding members, gazetting and other requirements necessary for the establishment of a political party were very difficult and "that is why we have few parties around". Source: Daily Graphic