Ghana’s Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Alban Sumana Bagbin, has met with Ms. Stine Renate Håheim, State Secretary to Norway’s Minister of International Development, on the sidelines of the 11th Session of the Conference of States Parties (CoSP 11) to the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC).
The meeting, held during the world’s largest anti-corruption gathering in Doha from December 15–19, 2025, followed the collaboration between Ghana, Norway, Albania, and Mongolia that led to the tabling of a landmark draft resolution on enhancing transparency in the funding of political parties.
Speaker Bagbin expressed appreciation to Norway for its leadership in advancing the resolution, which Ghana co-sponsored. He described the initiative as “a core pillar of democratic governance,” noting that it was the first-ever UNCAC resolution specifically addressing political finance transparency.
He emphasized that opaque and unregulated financing in electoral processes posed risks to democracy, entrenching corruption and eroding public trust. The resolution, he said, recognized political finance transparency as a global issue requiring international cooperation, while also highlighting capacity-building and technical assistance for developing countries.
Bagbin commended the resolution’s provisions on gender equity, whistleblower protection, civil society participation, and media oversight, as well as its framework for establishing monitoring bodies, enforcing robust reporting requirements, and applying proportional sanctions. He further called for stronger measures against organized crime infiltrating political processes.
On her part, Ms. Håheim thanked Ghana for co-sponsoring the resolution and underscored the importance of the collaboration, which she said would strengthen international partnerships on anti-corruption and democratic governance. She noted that the four sponsoring countries represented different UN regions, a testament to the resolution’s broad support.
The meeting concluded with a shared conviction that successful adoption of the resolution — formally titled “Preventing and combating corruption through enhancing transparency in funding of political parties, candidatures for elected public office and electoral campaigns” — would open doors for greater global commitment to its principles.
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