An image of voting booths
Dr. Lassane Ouedrago, visiting research fellow with the Center for Democratic Development (CDD West Africa) has underscored Ghana’s democratic credentials, especially in the West African sub-region.
Speaking as a guest on the June 7, 2024 edition of the A55 Podcast, hosted by Nii Akrofi Smart-Abbey, Ouedrago emphasized the urgent need for West Africa to work towards consolidating democracy as part of its development matrix.
Ouedrago, who is also an Assistant Professor of Communications at the Universite Nazi Boni, Burkina Faso, weighed in on Ghana’s upcoming polls stressing that unlike in other countries, Ghana’s election is expected to be transparent and credible.
“Ghana is quite an outlier compared to these countries because in Ghana we expect an election that is going to be more or less fair and an election that is going to lead to continuity of the state.
“In other words, there is not going to be a break in the institutional framework we know as Ghana and in the end irrespective of what happens, the winner is going to be the president of Ghana,” he stressed.
Ghana’s 2024 general elections will entail the election of a new president and 275 Members of Parliament. The presidential race is a fight between current Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia and former President John Dramani Mahama.
Ghana’s current Parliament with 137 MPs apiece on the Majority and Minority benches means only an independent MP’s decision to align with the government gave it label Majority Group. This has added to the tension in key constituencies ahead of the December 7 vote
The no-surprise vote in Chad vs. Senegal’s ‘people power’ election
He pointed to the 2024 presidential vote in Chad and the one that took place in February in Senegal to explain how electoral and democratic processes in different sub-Saharan countries can be sharply contrasting.
“We woke up to a new president in Chad, no surprise, no big surprise at all. That is the kind of elections that get me worried about the state of democracy in Africa broadly when citizens do not trust the process that leads to the choice of a leader,” he submitted.
Over in Dakar, he emphasized how vigilance ensured that democracy and the will of the people prevailed.
“Predefined results do democracy no good. I always tell people that in Senegal, it is not democracy that won but it was the will of the Senegalese youth that won despite themselves. The Senegalese didn't want to die in their hundreds before they get to elect their leader democratically,” he added.
He lamented the situation of Togo's new constitution and its new political dynamics arguing that it was a route to allow the president to consolidate power and entrench his influence over the state for as long as possible.
Listen to the full podcast titled ‘Time to rethink democracy in Africa?’
About the podcast
The A55 Podcast is a platform birthed to contribute to the growing conversation of having African voices address the continent’s successes and failures at the national, subregional, continental and global levels.
Its content pool is as diverse as the rich and complex history of Africa. From international affairs to democracy, geopolitics to the arts, media and digital literacy to history, A55 podcast serves a medley of riveting conversations.
“On this podcast, we will strive to reflect the true reality on the ground today and discuss issues driving Africa’s challenges and growth with experts and with individuals who are helping to reshape the narrative about Africa,” host Smart-Abbey stated.
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