Is our democracy guilty?- Reflections on Constitution Day (January 7, 2023) celebration

The practice of democracy, the system of government in which rulers are held accountable for their actions by citizens directly or indirectly through their elected representatives, has sustained Ghana’s Fourth Republic for 30 years and still counting. Consecutive rounds of the Afrobarometer survey confirm that Ghanaians prefer democracy to any other form of government.

Hence, the political changes that Ghanaians have demanded in the Fourth Republic have always been effected through popular elections—a cardinal feature of democratic practice. 

In this dispensation, eight successful elections have been held so far (1992-2020) that have produced eight Parliaments and five presidents— three of whom have served two consecutive terms. 

But democracy is more than the sine qua non of observing the electoral cycle in a free and fair manner and guaranteeing fundamental human rights.

EIU

According to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) Democracy Indexes of 2021 and 2022, Ghana is ranked as a flawed democracy. The EIU describes a flawed democracy as one that has deficits including snags in governance, a weak political culture and low levels of political participation. 

The 2022 Democracy Index indicated that the confidence of Ghanaians in government functions declined amidst increased repression of dissenting views against the government. The Ghana Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD-Ghana) 2021 report on ‘Democracy Capture in Africa’ has elaborated on how few individuals in the state have appropriated state institutions and processes for themselves to selfishly reap the democratic dividends. The problem of democracy capture has ramifications in states where social and economic inequalities exist as found by Bhardan in 1997.

Indeed, democracy has deliverables. It is good for socioeconomic development without compromising human rights and freedoms. Authors like Oslon, Alence, d’Macedo, Knutsen, Rodrik, Todaro and Smith have advanced arguments that establish a positive correlation between democracy and development. Bardhan in 1997, using comparative institutional analysis to understand the relationship between democracy and development, found out that the former helps the latter through the accountability mechanism. 

Experts 

A number of experts on democracy have categorised accountability into vertical, horizontal and societal accountability. How do citizens hold leaders accountable? How effective do state institutions check on other state institutions? What have been the results of the media and civil society’s scrutiny of the actions of the state? In recent years, actions taken by individuals, state ‘watchdog’ institutions, and civil societies have received reprisal attacks and curated PR-ops from government officials. Some active citizens have also suffered arrests and death while civil societies’ reports have sometimes been discredited.

Development, as a democratic dividend, is yet to be fully realised, as evidence from multiple rounds of the Afrobarometer survey suggests greater dissatisfaction with our democracy, as observed by Osae-Kwapong (2023). Despite the huge preference for democracy against any other form of government, Ghanaians attest that major and minor problems exist in the pursuit of our democracy. Generally, there is a lack of trust in our institutions and processes and poverty and inequality in all forms persist, now worsened by global shocks, inflation and economic crisis, which have led to successive runs for bailouts and debt restructuring. But should democracy be judged by what it promised to deliver? And when it’s found guilty what should be its sentence?

Book

In his recent book, ‘…How Ghanaians See Their Democracy’, Osae-Kwapong outlined, among others, the following liabilities on Ghana’s democracy balance sheet: a. declining trust in institutions; b. retrogression in the fight against corruption; c. perception of elected representatives as unresponsive; d. a growing sense of inequality; and e. return of the democracy deficit. These liabilities have hindered human-centred inclusive development. Indeed, in his observations on the evaluation of the country’s economic conditions, he observed that between 55 and 89 per cent of Ghanaians state the country’s economic conditions and their personal living conditions are very/fairly bad. About 25 to 55 per cent of Ghanaians also lack access to food, water and medical care. Lack of cash income remains a major problem for many Ghanaians, an indicator of the huge unemployment situation.

Flawed

The above discussion shows all is not well with our democracy; it is flawed and captured. What democracy promised is yet to be delivered. Nevertheless, significant gains have been made. Our democracy assets—support for democracy and democratic norms, rejection of authoritarianism, legitimacy and increased access to basic needs (food, water, health care, and security)—as argued by Osae-Kwapong, “are strong pillars upon which Ghana can continue to build and deepen its democracy consolidation efforts”.

The government may leverage these assets to ensure that the dividends of our democracy reach every Ghanaian, especially marginalised groups—women, children and the youth. Moreover, the government should adhere to its open government and anti-corruption commitments to bolster citizens' trust in state institutions.
 
The writer is the Associate Founder of the Institute of Applied Politics, Ghana; a development politics research organisation based in Ghana.