What if ‘abstain’ was made an option on election 2024 ballot paper?

December 7, 2024, will see Ghana go to the polls once again. The task will be simple: we have to elect new leaders at the national and parliamentary levels of governance.

Although many parties will contest, the bigger concession has, for the past years, been that it will end up as a two-horse race between the NPP and NDC.

Truth be told, political watchers are looking forward to the turn of events come December 7th with how things have unfolded thus far. Yes, there is NPP and NDC, but there is also Alan Kyerematen and his Movement for Change. Some are wondering if Nana Kwame Bediako (AKA Cheddar/Freedom Jacob Caesar) and ‘The New Force’ Movement can also change something.

These two contenders, while there’s work to do, seem to have some wind in their sails that could propel them in this race, at least to make a statement. Coming from the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) as a stalwart and experienced politician with a track record to boast of, some say Alan Kyerematen could weigh down the chances of Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia and the NPP to ‘Break The Eight’.

Nana Kwame Bediako and ‘The New Force’ Movement also seem to appeal to the youth, who are large enough to consider a deciding constituency in this election. Additionally, if the calls for #FixTheCountry and #OccupyJulorbiHouse are anything to go by, then he could present that fresh air youths in the country have craved for years. If he gets that resounding support, with no ‘political sins’ attached to his record, ‘The New Force’ could be a force to reckon with come December 7th and beyond.

Whatever the case will be in the scenarios above, there is a lot to look out for in the upcoming elections. Not forgetting Parliament and the historic plus-one-person majority the ruling party has.

After looking at all these, it could be worth considering that some Ghanaians might want to have their views represented in a way that is currently not represented on the ballot papers.

Could it be that seeing the NPP and NDC rule Ghana’s 4th republican democratic dispensation to this point, some aren’t amused and would simply want to register their concerns and views as citizens (their prerogative right) abstaining from the options provided?

Recognizing this choice as a protest vote, one might argue that it could be measured by the number of spoiled ballots. I, however, differ from that assertion, seeing that rejected ballots have historically been associated with an inadequate level of knowledge the voter has in casting their choices right. Additionally, they have not been officially recognized as protest votes for our elections here in Ghana.

Seeing that the Electoral Commission could consider turning the latter to mean protest votes, why would we do that at the peril of measuring the level of understanding and knowledge Ghanaians have in casting votes?

The ‘abstain’ option could be a very effective way to measure the voice of the people and what they want to see. It could give more power to the people as democracy provides and, in fact, enshrines.

It could also be argued that given the options available for an election, those who are not interested in any of the choices are simply prevented and discouraged from taking part in the elections.

Adding ‘abstain’ as an option simply expands the frontiers of our democracy to one that has elections providing valuable information, going on to contribute immensely to the deepening of our democracy.

The writer, Samuel Swanzy-Baffoe is a freelance journalist.