In Afrobarometer Round 10 (2024), forty-six per cent (46 per cent) expressed feeling close to any political party.
What was intriguing about this number was the sharp decline from Round 1 (1999), where sixty-seven per cent (67 per cent) felt close to any political party.
In essence, between 1999 and 2024, attachment to political parties has declined significantly by twenty-one (21) percentage points.
That decline is reflected across all demographic groups with varying degrees of detachment, ranging between six and thirty-three percentage points.
Ghanaians aged between 18-25 express the greatest detachment (-33points) from political parties.
For someone who has regularly decried the polarising and partisan nature of our democratic politics, my knee-jerk reaction is one of celebration.
But the question is, does the detachment of Ghanaians from our political parties signal any dangers for the country’s democracy?
The upside of political detachment
There is no denying that public discourse easily degenerates into strong binary positions along the lines of Ghana’s two main political parties – National Democratic Congress (NDC) and New Patriotic Party (NPP).
If political discourse depends partly on sharp, felt differences in how these two camps regard each other and view all national issues, then the decline in detachment may lead to less binary and polarising public conversations.
It is important to note that Ghanaians have not, in principle, lost their appetite for political choice.
The Afrobarometer data shows clearly that on average, across nine survey rounds, seven out of ten (69 per cent) Ghanaians say, “more political parties are needed.”
The detachment story here, therefore, may be about what they are getting currently from the choices before them.
Is it any surprise that in Round 10 (2024), only 10 per cent of Ghanaians expressed “a lot” of trust in political parties (ruling and opposition)?
What Ghanaians may be signalling with detachment is a demand for alternatives or an improvement in how the current choices before them engage each other and the public.
Whatever the case is, there is a message for political parties.
Over the past decade, democratic erosion and backsliding have emerged as a global concern, prompting efforts to understand their underlying causes and identify preventive measures.
Political detachment may carry an upside: if fewer people hold strong partisan identities, the pool available for mobilisation around unconditional loyalty shrinks.
This, in turn, could foster a more dispassionate assessment of a country's democratic health and a greater willingness to build consensus around its faultlines - helping to avert backsliding.
The downside of political detachment
There is, however, a potential downside to the political detachment story.
Political parties historically have been a reliable vehicle for civic participation among Ghanaians.
Their many activities – organising protests, canvassing, registration drives, mobilising for elections, offering opportunities to hold party office from the polling station level to the national level, etc. – all contribute to building a civic culture.
If citizens detach without finding alternatives for their civic habits, it may result in disengagement from the political space.
This is not healthy either because a vibrant democracy requires a strong civic culture.
Also, detachment may inadvertently weaken Ghana's political parties.
The survey data is clear: the percentage of Ghanaians who say they feel close to a political party is declining, and trust in parties remains low.
Even as Ghanaians express interest in having more political parties, the evidence shows that the country's democracy is essentially a duopoly, dominated by the NDC and NPP.
If these two parties weaken because of detachment without stronger alternatives emerging, the accountability function opposition parties are expected to perform may go undone, leaving ruling parties to do as they please
Detachment may not necessarily lead to less partisanship or polarisation.
As more citizens detach, the remaining committed base could become more intense.
The issue therefore may not be less partisanship or polarisation but rather how many are left to intensely engage in it.
The bottom line
The purpose here is not to pin Ghana's democracy challenges on partisans.
Partisans are citizens with a role to play in fostering the healthy growth of the country's democracy.
There is no doubt, however, that the political posturing of partisans and their approach to matters of national interest can sometimes feel as though party interest always comes first.
Such an approach to politics is worrying—it undermines national cohesion and limits our ability to build the consensus needed to move the country's development agenda forward.
It is for this reason that when data reveals detachment from political parties, I immediately embrace it with warmth.
When all is said and done, the detachment trend (1999 to 2024) is real and national in nature.
It is not driven by any one demographic group.
Whether it is healthy or not depends entirely on what will fill the space left open by detachment.
For now, we do not know.
The writer is the Project Director, Democracy Project
