Ghana’s elections were imperfect, but still an African triumph

Kofi Bentil

Every election has highs and lows. Ghana’s, though, could be described as subtle, with the characteristic opposition posturing in no-holds-barred fashion, while a determined incumbent unearthed electoral strategies to "do battle".

When the chips finally fell, a bruised incumbent acted for a brief moment like a bad loser, threatening court action against the vote and in the process lost significant goodwill.

In the end, it was the ruling party’s big guns who pressured its candidate to concede to the opposition victor. That admonishment was a clear admission Ghanaians wanted their constitutionally mandated institutions to work. It did not make the incumbent less of a democrat, much less subversive, even if the attempt was to shake off the unexpected pain of a loss.

With hindsight though, it makes interesting reading in Africa. When a losing incumbent quickly puts an ex-parte motion in front of a judge who they think is "one of them", you expect a swift judgment in their favour, influenced not by the law, but by other interests. This scenario seemed to have happened, but in Ghana it failed. The judge looked at the officials from the ruling party, whose president was still in office, and threw out their case citing the law as his authority.

Ghana triumphed again because elsewhere in Africa, ruling parties are not known to rush to court when they are threatened with loss of power due to an electoral defeat!

In the run up to the elections, researchers had identified over a hundred flash points requiring serious security attention. In a country where a football match can lead to great disasters and very little can spark a fratricidal war, we have to be thankful that there are no funerals because of tensions from the election.

Violence

That said, there were incidents of violence, usually from mob action. However, it was not close to what has been the character of disputed elections in some African countries where violence rendered qualified voters invalids and others meeting their untimely deaths.

Here, again, Ghana owes such rare grace to the conduct of political parties and security personnel who admonished the public to value their lives and votes, as the elections were about choices, not bullets.

The Police and the Army in particular were at their professional best, having experienced the ravaging legacy of war through peace keeping operations around the world.

In a similar vein, Ghana’s electoral commission deserves commendation having earned the trust of every citizen after successfully and impartially conducting five general elections.

Africa’s recent electoral history, typified by disputes in Kenya and Zimbabwe among others, does not boast of such neutrality to the point that the general populace would say, as many Ghanaians agreed to, "leave it to the Electoral Commission".

Indeed, locally, Ghana’s Electoral Commission chairman, Dr Kwadwo Afari-Djan, is probably the most trusted Ghanaian after former United Nations Secretary-General Dr Kofi Annan. This despite the usual accusations of fraud and bloated registers.

Perhaps the biggest praise should go to incumbent President John Kuffour for his markedly dignified and statesman-like neutrality through this contest. He was quite deft in his handling of the near-electoral dispute from the close election and subsequent run-off because somehow he managed to maintain his support for his party’s candidate but did nothing to give him an undue advantage.

His party has respected him, and the nation has one more reason to love him. It feels good that Ghana will soon have two former presidents who have earned our love and gratitude.

So, wherever you belong, regardless of how you feel now, whether cheated or elated, and to those who feel we have disgraced ourselves and spoilt our record as the haven of peace in a turbulent sub-region, take a moment to reflect on the above.

Maybe some wouldn’t agree, but for all the above, I surely see a lot to be thankful for.

The writer, a lecturer and consultant at Ashesi University and the University of Ghana Business School, is a Fellow of Imani, www.africanLiberty.org, a member of the African Leadership Initiative, of the Aspen Institute, and an affiliate of the Cato Institute and the International Policy Network of the United Kingdom.