‘Strong sense of integrity needed to consolidate Ghana’s democracy’
The democratic processes of Ghana can be further entrenched if the various agents and agencies involved in the electoral process show a strong sense of integrity, non-partisanship and a resolve for national development.
Advertisement
That way, speed of operations and availability of data would be forthcoming without the use of extra energy to obtain facts and figures.
Aside from that, it would ensure efficiency in the use of resources and save the needed time for labour effectiveness.
Observations from Japan
These were observations made during a visit to the Fussa City of Japan.
The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is hosting a seminar on ‘Democracy and Good Governance, Japan’s Experience and Practice’.
The theme for the seminar is Legislative and Electoral Administration.
The objectives are to get participants from the other eight countries apart from Ghana, such as Cambodia, Cote d’Ivoire, Egypt, Fiji, Guinea, Kyrgyz, Nepal and Thailand, to learn from their host while sharing ideas.
The purpose is to improve on governance and democracy in their countries, from the perspective of leaders from the legislature, electoral commissions and the media.
Other Trending Stories
Sharing experiences
This is in line with the Japanese principle of sharing experiences without imposing their ideologies.
One of the sessions was to observe the preparation for and the conduct of election for the position of the Mayor of Fussa City.
Fussa City is located 40 miles from central Tokyo and hosts one of the US Air Bases in Japan, Yokota Air Base, that takes up about 30 per cent of the land size of that city.
The election was between the incumbent Mayor Ikuo Kato, who has served two eight-year terms and seeking a third term, and Mr Nishimura, who is supported by the Communist Party.
Both candidates are independent candidates.
One remarkable feature of elections in that city is the fact that one cannot vote if that person has no registered residential address.
Also, if one had a residential address but had relocated without informing the authorities, that person would not qualify to vote.
For voting, post cards are posted to the registered addresses of all eligible voters and these post cards are brought to the polling station on the day of voting to cast their ballots.
The electoral list is also compiled on a continuous basis and is closed a few hours to the elections.
No space for cheating
According to official sources, no one tries to cheat the system, since anyone who dared would be caught.
In the event of one getting caught, the source said, there is no “I beg”, as the laws work and they trust their police.
One other observation was that all stakeholders, regardless of rank or age, played a role in the setting up of the polling centres thereby reducing the time that would have been used by only designated officials.
One other feature of the Japanese electoral system is that it allows for early voting.
Advertisement
For that matter, anyone who is unable to be at the polling station on the day of the election has six days before the election to go to the City Hall to cast his or her ballot.
In another development, Nissan, Mitsubishi and Suzuki have been caught in rigging fuel-efficient data and an official of Mitsubishi has resigned because of this alleged scandal.
Another observation was the proactive attitude to cleanliness as the citizenry have the orientation not to create filth, instead of the situation in Ghana where filth is generated to be cleared by another entity.
Writer’s email: kenneth.ashigbey@graphic.com.gh
Advertisement