No visa for people undermining Ghana’s democracy — US

Ahead of the December 7 polls, the United States of America (USA) has announced a new visa restriction policy that will restrict US visas for any individual responsible for undermining democracy in the country.

The US Department of State, which issued the directive, explained that the visa restriction policy was pursuant to Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, and allowed the Department of State to implement visa restrictions for individuals believed to be responsible for, or complicit in undermining democracy in Ghana.

Such individuals, as explained in the statement, included persons who were undermining democracy “through the manipulation or rigging of the electoral process; the use of violence to intimidate, coerce or prevent people from exercising their rights to freedoms of association and peaceful assembly; the use of measures designed to intimidate, coerce or prevent political party representatives, voters or members of civil society or the media from voicing or disseminating their views.”

“It would also affect persons engaging in any other activity designed to improperly influence the conduct or outcome of an election.”

The restrictions, which were announced yesterday by the US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, said it was part of the US’ commitment to support and advance democracy in Ghana.

It added that the measure would take effect in advance of the country’s presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled for Saturday, December 7, 2024.

Undermining democracy

The Department explained further that the visa restriction policy would apply only to specific individuals who undermined democracy and was “not directed at the Ghanaian people nor the government.

“Certain family members of such persons may also be subject to these restrictions. Persons who undermine democracy in Ghana — including in the lead-up to, during and following Ghana’s 2024 elections may be found to be ineligible for visas under this policy,” the statement added.

It acknowledged that the country had been a showpiece in terms of democratic elections, having achieved three decades of peaceful transfer of power between parties — a record to be proud of and a model to cherish.

The US emphasised its readiness to impose visa restrictions, if circumstances warranted, was an example of the support for the aspirations of all Ghanaians for a peaceful, transparent and credible electoral process that reflected the will of the people.

US Embassy explains

The Press Attache of the US Embassy in Ghana, Matthew Asada, explained that the initiative by the U.S. Department of State was designed to support democracies around the world, including in Ghana.  

He said Ghana with a long history of democracy and peaceful transitions of power was as a model for West Africa and with the policy, “we are sending a clear message that those who undermine democracy are not welcome in the United States”.

Asked if the policy measure was a request by the government of Ghana, he said the US was responsible for managing its immigration and naturalisation laws, which included visa eligibility.  

On how the US or its embassy in Ghana could fish out culprits undermining democracy in Ghana or complicit in doing so, Mr Asada explained that while individual visa records were confidential, they would continue to review actions taken by various individuals during the conduct of the 2024 Ghanaian elections and may announce steps to impose visa restrictions on any such individuals believed to be responsible for, or complicit in, undermining democracy in Ghana.  

Some analysts have pointed out that such restriction policies by the US could be used by local politicians to witch-hunt their opponents by making wild allegations that could get them tagged as having engaged in such irresponsible acts.

But the Press Attache said Consular officers would look at the totality of information available when making a decision about a person’s eligibility for a visa.

“Wild unsubstantiated allegations whether they are about the subversion of democracy, illegal activity, or any other visa ineligibility would not be a sound basis for a visa adjudication,” Mr Asada stressed.

Commenting on the development, the Dean and Director of Academic Affairs at the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Professor Vladimir Antwi-Danso, described the visa restriction policy on persons purported to be undermining democracy in Ghana as bullying.

He said such actions by the US rather created conflicts in most countries they did that to because if a prominent person in any political party was targeted and the person had a lot of people, that might create some kind of friction here in the country.

“So, most of such things rather create conflicts in most of the countries and do not help in any way to crystalise democracy,” he said, and queried “What are the parameters for making sure that ‘A’ is undermining democracy?

What are the parameters? So, they will declare the parameters and they will be the persons who will say ‘A’ or ‘B’ is undermining the democratic process?”

“It is unfortunate, but it’s like they have allocated to themselves that right to bully and that’s very unfortunate,” the professor of international affairs and diplomacy said.

Call

Prof. Antwi-Danso, therefore, called on Ghanaians to ignore the policy.

He said while for Ghana, that was the first time the US was taking such an action against the country ahead of an election, for several other countries, they had suffered it, adding that it was one way the US used to punish their enemies.

On whether the US policy would help advance the country’s democracy, Prof. Antwi-Danso answered in the negative, saying, “we have to own our democracy and build it the way we want”.

“We must choose our own democratic principles and build it because what they are doing is that we will always have to pander to their whims and they are going to tell us what type of democracy and who is undermining democracy. Who gave them that right? But that’s America,” he added.

Policy in order

An international relations and diplomacy analyst, Shadrach Baa-Naa Kundi, said it was the first time the US government had issued such a visa restriction policy on Ghana which he considered “a balancing power approach being used by the US to ensure that it does not lose Ghana as a key partner in West Africa as well as protect investment and establishments in the country”.

He said from a policy point of view, it was a response to the power dynamics in the West African sub-region where a number of countries such as Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger had lost their democratic credentials, had cut ties with the US and aligned with the US' main rivals in global politics, such as Russia and China.

Mr Kundi, who is also the Director of Operations and Research at the African Centre for International Affairs (AfriCIA), maintained that the visa restriction policy was condition-based and specific, and reinforced the US government's commitment to maintain a good relationship with Ghana as a beacon of democracy in Africa.

“It is not meant to cause any panic nor restrict Ghanaians from travelling to the United States, but a means to send a signal to the international community that the democracy of Ghana is of importance to the US,” the international relations analyst stated.

The analyst averred that the policy was also a strong signal that the US would not be a welcoming party to persons or group of persons whose actions averted the democracy of Ghana, be it through a military coup, electoral violence or irregularities perpetrated even by the Electoral Commission.