Towards peaceful by-elections
Last week’s by-election in the Akwatia Constituency, taking place on the back of the unfortunate demise of Ernest Kumi of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), had all the trappings of a typical by-election in this country - party big guns from both sides of the political divide descending heavily to campaign, security concerns and rumblings, and loud noises projecting the event as a referendum of sorts on the incumbent government, among many others.
Old trick, precious peace
Of course, one cannot fail to note road development projects shamelessly and hurriedly rolled out overnight under the glare of bright lights as by-elections beckon.
The message buried in this old, quintessential trick by incumbent governments in this country is clear: vote wisely and see development projects in leaps and bounds.
It’s akin to dangling sweets in front of a child.
It would have to take a stronghold of the opposition party to resist this delicious temptation coming from the government. Akwatia has, over the years, been swinging furiously between the two main political parties like a pendulum on steroids.
Ultimately, not even the one-week observance rites of Mr Kumi, held strategically shortly before the by-election, presumably to milk voters’ sympathy, were enough to prevent the National Democratic Congress (NDC) from snatching the seat from the NPP - a seat that is quite inconsequential to their parliamentary fortunes, given its huge majority.
With violent by-elections of yesteryear in mind, the police could be forgiven for treating this event as if preparing for war and flexing their muscles publicly to send a message to would-be miscreants and vagabonds.
Of course, in this particular instance, coming almost soon after the events on Ablekuma North, this was a sensible approach.
In the final analysis, precious peace, as precious as the diamonds Akwatia is famed for, prevailed, and everyone went home, either with faces flushed with excitement or with long faces steeped in disappointment.
Psychological factors
It is understandable why the NDC would treat this by-election with a great deal of seriousness.
This is because the political fallout from a loss would be seized upon by the NPP as a referendum on the government, a sign that it was losing its goodwill harvested in Election 2024.
With this victory, the NDC faithful are able to proclaim from the rooftops that their party is on the roll and has, by this by-election, demonstrated that it is governing the country well.
Propaganda aside, I do not believe an NDC loss would have necessarily meant it was losing goodwill, nor does the win necessarily point to an endorsement by Ghanaians.
The dynamics of every by-election are local and particular to that constituency and ought to be looked at from that perspective.
On the other hand, an NPP win would have boosted the party's morale in significant ways, given the whipping it received at the 2024 election.
A win would have been a major silver lining in the dark clouds that seem to define the party’s post-electoral difficulties in its journey into picking itself from the floor and getting its act together.
Beyond this psychological factor that would have fired and energised the party base as amounting to green shoots of recovery, I do not believe that a win by the NPP would have necessarily represented the national mood. Again, by-elections are just what they are, reflecting local dynamics and realities.
Both sides, therefore, badly needed a win for psychological reasons, even if from different perspectives. Of course, there could be only one winner.
Are bye-elections necessary?
In the wake of this by-election, some have suggested that the whole business of by-elections is an unnecessary waste of time and money and only ramps up the political temperature, so it should be done away with.
In its place, it has been suggested that the incumbent party in the constituency should be allowed to choose a replacement in the event of the seat being vacated and then ushered into Parliament without a by-election, since the MP was in Parliament on the ticket of the party.
I strongly disagree with this proposal as wholly undemocratic and a perverse infringement on the right of the electorate to determine which individual to represent them in Parliament.
Immediately, the question arises as to what to do in the event of an independent candidate vacating the seat through death, resignation or recall.
This difficulty, in my view, negates the suggestion significantly.
Further, as a legal practitioner, Mrs Clara Kowlager Kasser-Tee, puts it succinctly in a Facebook post, ‘We can also not forget that delegates in this country have chosen parliamentary candidates for their parties, but these got rejected at the general election.
What the people said in those cases was to show their disapproval with the political party’s choice, and their preference for the candidate they voted for, whether this candidate was an independent contestant or contested on the ticket of a rival political party.
What this proposal does is to deny the constituents the right to determine whether they want the specific individual chosen by the inheriting political party to represent them in Parliament.
We cannot in one breath decry political party capturing of democracy, and in another breath hand them even more monopoly of choice.’ I fully agree with her.
Of course, democracy is expensive.
But it is an arduous path we have chosen for ourselves, and we cannot carve shortcuts in the process out of political convenience.
If we should short-circuit by-elections because they are expensive, we might as well do the same for general elections, which are far more expensive.
What next?
As for political tensions, they are to be expected, given the high stakes.
But aside from Akwatia, the Kumawu, Ejisu and Assin North by-elections in recent years passed without violence.
That is what we should be normalising in this country.
The various stakeholders, including the political parties, security services and civil society, have to continue doing more to build trust and keep our by-elections safe and secure.
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