Surveys from the Afro barometer indicates that 73 per cent of Ghanaians now prefer elections to any other method of selecting their rulers. Even though the study indicated that the two leading political parties in Ghana, the National Democratic Congress and the New Patriotic Party, enjoy specific social support base, this has not led to competing economic policies for the people.
Dr. Kwesi Jonah, Head of the Political Science Department, University of Ghana, made the assertions during a public forum, organized by the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences with support from the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, in Accra. The three-day event scheduled for 27 to 29 June, 2011, is on the theme: “Elections and the Democratic Challenges in Africa.”
Dr. Jonah who spoke on: “Elections and Democracy: A Critical Review”, said more Ghanaian electorate have expressed confidence in the Electoral Commission’s management of elections, which was essential for the transition and consolidation of democracy in Ghana.
He said through the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC), election disputes in Ghana were able to secure elite accommodation and consensus for the consolidation of democracy.
Dr. Jonah explained that since November 1992, Ghana has conducted regular elections without any disruptions, and the process has steadily evolved to become the only legitimate means of transferring power or renewing mandate. He said elections have generated institutional changes, becoming invaluable to the process of consolidating liberal democracy in Ghana.
Full Article: Ghanaians prefer election of rulers to other methods.
