Democracy cannot be sustained by rights and freedoms alone; It must bring real improvements to people’s lives - Mahama
President John Dramani Mahama has said Ghana’s democracy could collapse if it does not deliver development in the form of roads, schools, hospitals and jobs.
He said surveys continue to show that many young Ghanaians would prefer military rule if democracy fails to address their needs.
Speaking at the 2025 Democracy Dialogue in Accra on Wednesday, September 17, 2025, President Mahama described the trend as disturbing.
“All the Afrobarometer surveys and other surveys… in many of these surveys, they added the question, do you prefer democratic government or would you support a coup d’état? And it was frightening to notice that a lot of our young people said they would prefer to live under a military government,” he said.
Mr Mahama stressed that democracy cannot be sustained by rights and freedoms alone if it fails to bring real improvements to people’s lives.
“We must deliver development because democracy without development, democracy without roads, democracy without schools, hospitals, and jobs will always be at risk,” he added.
He also called for a reset of Ghana’s governance system to restore trust and credibility.
“We need a reset of our democracy. We need a reset of our economy. We need a reset of our governance. We need to make our governance accountable. And that’s why I say anybody who wants to serve in public office must be prepared to account to the people,” he stated.
President Mahama said corruption, inequality and elite capture continue to undermine democracy and must be tackled with urgency to prevent further disillusionment, especially among the youth.
He added that the rise of new media was changing how citizens engage with governance and would play a role in shaping the future of democracy.
“We don’t have the traditional TV and radios as the main source of information now. Anybody can put a camera in front of his face and can make a commentary on anything. And so there again, how do we accommodate the new media in democratic consolidation? Maybe that might be the topic for the next Democracy Dialogue,” he said.
The 2025 Democracy Dialogue was held under the theme, Why Democracies Die. It brought together African leaders, including former Nigerian Presidents Goodluck Jonathan and Olusegun Obasanjo, and Nigerian politician Peter Obi.
