After the disturbing scenes from Ablekuma North’s parliamentary rerun, the question is who will have the courage to break the pattern of violence before it breaks the country.
I don’t usually write about politics. But after watching the disturbing scenes from yet another episode of election violence, I felt it would be dishonest, perhaps even irresponsible, to stay silent. No economy thrives on chaos, and no economic policy will survive bullets and broken trust. I hope my regular readers will indulge this departure from my usual focus.
What unfolded during the parliamentary rerun in Ablekuma North on July 11, 2025, was a painful reminder that Ghana’s democracy, often praised abroad for its stability, remains hostage to a deeply entrenched culture of partisan conflict. It revealed just how fractured our political environment has become. The violence and intimidation were not isolated. They are part of a vicious pattern that repeats with each election, no matter which party is in power.
The rather disturbing images captured a scene of organised chaos. Political operatives, many with no official role in the voting process, stormed polling stations, disrupted proceedings, and physically attacked opponents and observers. Journalists were harassed, and in some cases, assaulted, simply for doing their job. The police, though present, appeared either overwhelmed or indifferent.
Sadly, these scenes have become the grim norm in our election cycle. From the violence at the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election in 2019, to the eight tragic deaths in the 2020 general election, and now to the bloodied rerun in Ablekuma North, our democratic façade has repeatedly been pierced by political violence.
Worse still is the symmetry of it. The New Patriotic Party does it when in power. The National Democratic Congress returns the favour when its turn comes. Both parties have mastered the art of accusation, each blaming the other for starting the fire. The result is a political arms race marked by manipulation, judicial wrangling, misinformation, and intimidation; all wrapped in the language of democracy but driven by an unrelenting hunger for power.
The violence goes beyond the physical, corroding institutions and undermining public trust. It turns the Electoral Commission from a national referee into a suspected partisan actor. My good friend, Dr. Okoe Boye, former Minister of Health, remarked during a Channel One TV interview at the Ablekuma North rerun that the Electoral Commission may have come under pressure from the ruling party to fall in line. That may be true, Honourable. But the same claim was made during the previous government’s tenure as well. What am I saying? I am emphasising the symmetry of these circumstances with NPP-NDC, and how they chip away at public trust in public institutions like the EC, police, and security agencies, who are perceived to be either politicised or impotent.
We need leadership. A party, or a new generation of leaders willing to step forward and rise above the tit-for-tat culture. Our country is hungry for that kind of maturity.
And this is where Nelson Mandela easily comes to mind. His legacy rests on the quiet strength of choosing restraint at a moment when many would have chosen revenge. That decision didn’t just change his life. It shaped the course of his country.
Let me be quick to clarify that this is not a call to abandon accountability in any way. Wrongdoing must be punished fairly, swiftly, and without bias. Anything less only deepens resentment and risks justifying further violence.
Our relatively young democracy cannot continue to absorb this level of hostility and remain intact. People are growing tired. Apathy will set in, and when citizens no longer believe that election results reflect their will, the foundations of the democratic system will begin to crack. I ask, reflectively: Are we heading there? Some believe the 2024 election results revealed what had long been hidden — that this wasn’t a turning point, but a long-overdue correction of electoral outcomes that had not reflected the true vote. This perception alone should give us pause, that we may have been sitting on a time bomb all along.
Ablekuma North should not be remembered for who won or lost. It should be remembered as the moment we acknowledged that this approach to politics is unsustainable. That no parliamentary seat is worth a single drop of blood. That no political ambition is more important than the peace and dignity of the Ghanaian people.
Let both the NPP and NDC reflect and choose a different path, for Ghana’s sake. Bottom of Form
By Fred Eshun Kissi, MBA
The writer is a seasoned banking and finance professional with over 15 years of experience in corporate banking, commercial banking, and financial advisory. He holds an MBA with distinction from the University of Aberdeen in the UK and writes regularly on finance, economic governance, and development policy. He believes democracy is the foundation on which all meaningful economic progress rests.
