Author : Osei Baffour Frimpong
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (917 download)
Book Synopsis Democratisation and Electoral Conflict Management In Sub-Saharan Africa: The Ghanaian Experience by : Osei Baffour Frimpong
Download or read book Democratisation and Electoral Conflict Management In Sub-Saharan Africa: The Ghanaian Experience written by Osei Baffour Frimpong and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Elections are undoubtedly a quintessential of democratization process and Africa is not an exception to this. Elections have thus been a preeminent factor in Africas democracy since the 1990s. Indeed, it has been the medium through which African people participate in the decision making process in their respective states. Apart from this, elections have played a key role in democratic transitions in Africa and opened the political space in most African States. This notwithstanding, elections have also been a source of cataclysmic conflicts, tensions, polarization and hostilities among others in sub Saharan African states such as Kenya, Cote dIvoire, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Nigeria, Togo, Sierra Leone and central African Republic among others. For this reason, while elections are important, they are not in themselves conducive to emerging democracies in Africa.Ghana is geographically located in the West African sub region which has been a scene of preponderant electoral conflicts. Therefore, political observers have been concerned about the spill over effect of these electoral conflicts on Ghana. In spite of this, Ghana has successfully organised six competitive elections over the past two decades. These elections have led to power alternation and smooth transfer of power between Ghanas two major political parties, the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) in 2000 and 2008. This significant achievement has earned Ghana both international and domestic recognition as a beacon of democracy and a bastion of peace and stability in Africa. However, elections in Ghana have not been conflict free. Ghana has witnessed disputes, tensions and violent conflicts at hotspots in almost all the elections the country has had. In spite of this, Ghana has been relatively successful in managing its electoral conflicts.Against this background, the study seeks to investigate democratisation and electoral conflict management in sub Saharan Africa with the Ghanaian experience as a case study. In the case of Ghana, the study specifically examines the role of Ghanas Electoral Commission in the management and prevention of electoral conflict. The study further investigates the challenges confronting the EC in its quest to manage and prevent electoral conflict in Ghanas nascent democracy. More importantly, the study looks at how to strengthen the capacity of the EC in order to make it efficient in the management and prevention of electoral conflict. The study is predicated on the hypothesis that an independent, transparent, credible electoral administration and involvement of stakeholders in the electoral process are critical to the management and prevention of electoral conflicts. Also, the study is hinged on the liberal democratic theoretical matrix which explains the role of democratic institutions such as the electoral management body in the management and prevention of conflict in a democratic dispensation.The thematic concerns of the study were achieved through in depth analysis of secondary data which constitutes the findings of the study. The study has established that the constitutional autonomy of the EC granted by the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana, ECs ability to assert its autonomy, introduction of confidence, trust and transparent measures are the main conflict management tools employed by the EC in the management of electoral conflict in Ghana. The study particularly discovered that the establishment of Inter Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) to create the platform for the EC, political parties and civil society organisations to dialogue on issues regarding the electoral process and involvement of both domestic and international election observer groups in the electoral process by the EC have been a catalyst in the ECs role in the management of electoral conflicts in Ghana. The study however notes bloated voter register, inadequate civic education, weak early warning system, insufficient resources and institutional weaknesses among others as the challenges militating against the ECs quest to manage and prevent electoral conflict in Ghana.In the concluding reflections, the need for adequate funding, investment in civic education, establishment of conflict management panels, thorough cleaning of the voter register and establishment of early warning systems are proposed by the study to enhance the ECs role in the management of electoral conflict in Ghana.
