Prof. Gyimah-Boadi calls for peaceful, clean election

A former Executive Director of the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), Professor Emmanuel Gyimah-Boadi, has called for a credible, transparent, free and fair election to consolidate the country's democracy.

He said the country's democratic future hinged on the credibility and quality of the December 7 presidential and parliamentary polls.

He said in order not for the citizenry to lose faith in the country's democracy "then we must keep our election clean and peaceful and of high quality."

Prof. Gyimah-Boadi was speaking as the Chairperson at a roundtable meeting held in Accra last Friday to discuss security concerns ahead of the December 7 general election.

It was organised by the Foundation for Security and Development in Africa (FOSDA) and CDD-Ghana under the auspices of the National Election Response Group constituted by the National Peace Council and the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding.

Stake

The meeting, which brought together key ministries, security agencies, political parties and civil society, was to build confidence in the security services and justice systems to deliver a fair and secure electoral process.

Prof. Gyimah-Boadi also cited the Afrobarometer surveys across the continent over the past two decades that buttressed the need for the country to safeguard its democracy by upholding the principles of fairness and transparency in the upcoming election.

He said the surveys revealed that Africans prioritised the ballot box in choosing their leaders and the quality of elections directly impacted citizens' satisfaction with democracy.

"Ghanaians' support for democracy remains high at 75 per cent but there's a worrying trend," Gyimah-Boadi noted. "Rejection of military rule has dropped sharply by 20 per cent over the past decade and Ghana is among countries where citizens are increasingly open to military intervention if leaders abuse power, he said.

Prof. Gyimah-Boadi cited concerns about the upcoming December 2024 polls, given Ghana's location in a region plagued by extremist violence and anti-democratic groups.

"We must ensure the polls don't destroy Ghana's relative peace and maintain its status as a beacon of hope for democracy in the region," he emphasised.

To achieve this, Prof. Gyimah-Boadi called for a thorough review of past elections to avoid previous mistakes. "We must keep our elections clean, peaceful and of high quality to prevent citizens from losing faith in democracy," he urged.

Solutions

In her welcome address, Theodore Williams Anti of FOSDA, said in preparation for the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections, NERGs have identified key issues that needed to be addressed to ensure a peaceful electoral process.

These issues, she said included the trust deficit in key election management bodies such as the EC and security services, among political parties and the public.

To tackle these challenges, she said the NERGs have taken various steps, including organising the roundtable discussion on election security to inform stakeholders about security preparations and arrangements for the election, share concerns and agree on solutions.