12 months to Election 2024: 3 issues that need urgent attention

In less than a year, Ghanaians will go to the polls for the 9th time in the 4th republican era to elect a president and 276 members of Parliament.

Ghana’s democracy is highly rated on a continent and in a sub-region, where in the 21st Century, the barrel of the gun rather than the ballot as a means of changing governments is getting into vogue once more.

Ghana passed the coveted Huntington’s test of two successive election changeovers from one political party to the other in 2008 when the NPP handed over power to the NDC after the NDC did same to the NPP at the break of the new millennium in the year 2000. These credentials and more, make Ghana a beacon of democratic practice at least in Africa.

The choice presented to Ghanaians in the election next year is to vote either for Vice President Bawumia or Former President Mahama. There is an Alan Kyerematen Independent candidature as well as he has broken ranks with the governing NPP.

A year to the election, a number of issues make for interesting discussion and that’s exactly what I seek to do with this piece.

Security

Security is an important part of every election. Voters, voting materials and officials must be safe before, during and after the election. With the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission. Jean Mensa complaining about political parties deliberately fomenting trouble and its security implications, there could be a real challenge on the horizon.

Apart from this, a major concern is the lack of closure on the death of eight persons in election 2020 in Techiman. Nearly four years after the incident, there has been no public inquiry into the blot on our collective conscience to highlight the necessary lessons that must be picked up and implemented going forward.

Parliament had a golden chance to probe this matter, but the usual politics in the House of the People prevented MPs from getting to the bottom of this unfortunate act. We must go into the 2024 election with all the actors mindful of security and the need to safeguard lives and limbs.

The Electoral Commission

Another concern going into the election revolves around the arbiter of the elections, the Electoral Commission (EC). The EC in the past year has been on a crusade to make the Ghana card, the sole document for voter registration. It took stiff opposition from the Minority in Parliament to stall the process of laying the constitutional instrument that will kick into being the EC’s wishes.

Acquisition of the Ghana card has been fraught with its own challenges and many believe, a lot of Ghanaians will be disenfranchised if it becomes the sole document for registration as a voter. Can the EC agree to a workable plan that will have this proposed law take effect at a later date when the Ghana card is in more hands than the situation currently?

Another issue, the EC is confronted with, is the failure of the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC). The largest opposition party, the NDC has boycotted the forum which has been the fulcrum of the many electoral reforms that have underpinned the democratic growth of the country. Such a body cannot be left to die.

With the absence of the major opposition party from this important forum, some political analysts opine that the IPAC has lost its critical bite in shaping election-related matters. The grievances of the NDC for leaving the IPAC, whether justified or not, must not be swept under the carpet. The beauty of our democracy has always been in its ability to encourage divergent viewpoints. If the EC cannot repair this relationship that will restore IPAC, other institutions such as the Peace Council must lead the way in patching up what seems like a really strained relationship.

The Policy Circuit

Regarding the election itself, it will be the wish of many to witness an electioneering season characterized by issue-based campaigning and trading of ideas in policy alternatives.

The 2012 election, which focused on education and the debate about whether there should be access before affordability or vice versa comes to mind. Whether Free SHS or 200-day senior high schools, such vigorous debates as a matter of right, must dominate our elections and not name-calling and propaganda.

Without a doubt, unemployment is the biggest problem in Ghana today. This is compounded by the mass exodus of young people, skilled and unskilled, seeking greener pastures in foreign lands because they have simply lost hope. It is refreshing therefore that barely a year to the election, the policy debate has already started and this time around, it’s about putting young minds and shoulders to work.

The mechanics of creating a 24-hour economy have become topical thanks to the idea mooted by NDC Presidential Candidate, John Mahama. The NPP’s candidate Dr Bawumia is talking about a digitalised economy that will create jobs in new areas for young people.

We need more of such healthy policies and informed debates. People must be leaders in this country on the strength and quality of their ideas, not just by virtue of the brute electoral machines they are backed by.

Hopefully, we shall see a full-blown televised Presidential Debate in 2024 involving the main contenders. That will be a good development for our democracy. The next election is just 12 months away. Stakeholders must be alive to their responsibilities in ensuring that our enviable democracy is protected.