Political analyst Mohammed Tawfik Adamu says political parties should take responsibility for dealing with members and supporters who engage in abusive political commentary online, especially when those individuals operate from outside Ghana.

Speaking to Isaac Addae on Starr FM’s Morning Starr, Mr Tawfik said Ghana’s laws have limited reach beyond the country’s jurisdiction, making it difficult to arrest or prosecute people who post political insults from abroad.

“People sit outside the legal jurisdiction or constitutional jurisdiction of Ghana. And then they send insults, and it goes there. And you don’t have the jurisdiction to arrest them,” he said.

He said political parties could still act against such individuals where they have party affiliations, either by sanctioning them or publicly distancing themselves from their conduct.

“Even though these people are outside the jurisdiction of Ghana, they still have political ties with the political parties in this country. And so, they should be able to call them to order, or at least come out publicly to disassociate themselves from the kind of behaviour these individuals are engaging in.”

Mr Tawfik described the problem as “attitudinal” and questioned whether a national dialogue alone could address it.

“If this political class keeps quiet about it and then sets us up or pretends to be doing something about it, pretends to say that, no, there should be a national dialogue, what kind of national dialogue or national conversation can solve this problem?” he asked.

He called for sanctions against party members involved in the conduct.

“If they are members of the party, I mean card-carrying members of the party, they need to be… There are sanctions. If the party would even have to kick them out of the party, make something so that Ghanaians know that something is happening,” he said.

Mr Tawfik also questioned the involvement of independent organisations in efforts to address political insults, arguing that state institutions already have responsibilities in the area.

“We have the NMC. What are they doing? How are they regulating the media space? We also have the NCCE. Yes, these are state institutions. What are they doing?” he asked.

He cautioned that efforts involving independent organisations should not compromise or create doubts about their independence.