GHANA’S sitting Vice President, Alhaji Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, representing the New Patriotic Party (NPP), and former President John Dramani Mahama, flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), have been criss-crossing the length and breadth of the country, holding political rallies and meeting party executives and supporters in the 16 regions.
As the two leading political parties round up their campaign rallies with zest, they also seem to be diversifying the focus of their campaign activities from the rally grounds to the media. They have been issuing statements and holding news conferences, the contents of which dwell mainly on allegations, accusations and counter-accusations against each other.
Each party claims that the opponent is hatching a grand plan to either rig the polls or disrupt proceedings through the use of violence.
A report by GhanaWeb last month quoted the Deputy General Secretary of the NDC in charge of operations, Mustapha Gbande, as warning the NPP and threatening a ‘boot for boot’ response if the ruling party resorted to violence during the elections.
According to the report, Gbande emphasised that ‘any attempts by the NPP to spark violence will be met with a firm and resolute reaction’ from the opposition party.
The NPP on its part has accused the NDC of planting ‘action troopers’ in the Ashanti Region, its stronghold, to disrupt the voting process at polling stations on election day.
As these allegations made the rounds, the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) announced the seizure of a quantity of arms and ammunition at Tema Port near Accra on November 20.
According to the GRA, 53 pistols, 74 magazines and 65 live rounds of ammunition concealed in suitcases were discovered in a 40-foot container shipped from the US.
The Commissioner of Customs who confirmed the incident, stated that some arrests had been made and that investigations were ongoing to uncover further details.
53 pistols, 74 magazines and 65 live rounds of ammunition concealed in suitcases were discovered in a 40-foot container shipped from the US
Altogether, these developments have raised safety and security concerns among Ghanaians ahead of the general election.
Obviously, the atmosphere thus created is making some people anxious about the outcome of the poll and its aftermath.
In every democratic dispensation, competitive elections through the ballot box provide the vehicle on which political parties ride into power.
In that regard the acceptability or otherwise of the outcome of an election, which is very crucial for a smooth transition of power, is dependent to a large extent on the public’s confidence in the institutions responsible for overseeing the conduct of the polls.
It is imperative, therefore, that even as they pursue the quest for power, political parties, candidates, the electorate and all stakeholders must to be mindful of safeguarding the integrity and sanctity of the electoral process.
Given this background, there is cause for worry when all this finger-pointing and sabre-rattling among political actors in the country become a common scene that plays out in the glare of the public on a daily basis.
In almost all cases, the issue of electoral fraud takes centre stage.
Whether real or perceived, it is an incidence that has the tendency to create tension and erode public confidence in not only oversight institutions like the Electoral Commission (EC), but the electoral process in its entirety.
In turn, this provides fertile ground for dispute, violence and political instability in the aftermath of elections.
In the recent past this scenario has played out in a number of African countries including Kenya, Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire, Zimbabwe and Togo, with devastating consequences including heavy loss of human lives.
What is unfortunate is the fact that no lessons are learnt from the tragedies of the past – nor does the trend seem to have an end in sight.
It is important to unravel the phenomenon that makes presidential elections in particular, prone to such heightened tension and conflict in Africa, so as to engineer appropriate measures to halt the trend.
For instance, in most of the countries cited above, there were perceptions that the poll was rigged in favour of either the incumbent president or his party.
The reluctance or refusal of incumbent governments to accept the outcome of elections they have clearly lost, presents one of the greatest impediments to democracy not only in Africa but anywhere else it may occur
In such an atmosphere, elections are neither seen as free nor fair even when they are adjudged to be so.
Therefore, the reluctance or refusal of incumbent governments to accept the outcome of elections they have clearly lost, presents one of the greatest impediments to democracy not only in Africa but anywhere else it may occur.
Another factor analysts point to as contributory to political tension and uncompromising behaviour during elections, is what is often referred to as the ‘Winner Takes All’ syndrome.
They argue that having won elections and ‘taken it all’, Ghana’s hybrid constitutional arrangement makes it mandatory for the president to appoint the majority of government ministers from Parliament.
This, the analysts maintain, undermines the authority of Parliament as an oversight body, since it makes the Legislature subservient to the Executive.
The imbalance thus created, concentrates enormous power in the hands of the president as he controls Parliament in addition to ‘taking it all’ at the presidency.
Without doubt, laying hands on such immense power is enough motivation to make the presidential slot a ‘do or die’ affair for many aspirants.
In a press statement dated November 18, 2024, the Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO), a local election monitoring group, urged law enforcement agencies to institute measures that prohibit vote-buying and abuse of incumbency which, the group argues, render futile any efforts at creating a level playfield for all candidates.
Without any fear of contradiction, sound democratic practice demands that contestants in presidential or Parliamentary elections should readily concede defeat at polls, especially when everything points to the fact that the poll was devoid of any form of malpractice.
But where there is clear evidence of an attempt to rob the people of their mandate, and when that angry mob takes to the streets, there is very little left to talk about political tolerance or democracy after the rampage that often ensues
Mohammed Nurudeen Issahaq is a journalist and author. (missahaq6@gmail.com).
