Democratic traits such as relative lack of violence, zero vote-rigging and low voter’s apathy in Ghana’s presidential polls is expected to be the envy of Africa’s 2021 elections and not recent events from Washington, D.C., the capital of one of the world’s oldest democracies, the United States.
For African countries like Uganda, Zambia, Ethiopia, Libya and Gambia conducting an election in 2020, maintaining democracy has moved beyond solid institutions like free and fair election management bodies or an independent judiciary.
It also requires sustained political leadership and society’s commitment to respect and abide by established norms as the last United States election exposed how the danger of ignoring these norms can be fatal.
January 6 will be remembered as a black and bleak day in the history of the United States (US), when the world’s oldest and most powerful democracy allowed its legislative heart, the US Capitol, to be stormed by supporters of President Donald Trump.
In the days, weeks, and years ahead, as the country does some soul searching to grapple with the consequences of eroding democratic norms, Ghana’s history with elections offers some lessons in how democracy is sustained.
The West African nation has had six presidential elections since 2000, including three democratic transitions in which the party in power lost and the opposition peacefully assumed the presidency
Having previously suffered from a series of devastating coups and military dictatorships, the West African nation has had six presidential elections since 2000, including three democratic transitions in which the party in power lost and the opposition peacefully assumed the presidency.
Chidi Odinkalu, senior manager for Africa at the Open Society Foundations, which gives grants to organisations promoting democracy, said Ghana had a deserved reputation for strong democratic norms.
“If you look across the continent, this is the least dramatic and the most boring election and that is an absolutely great story,” Odinkalu told Financial Times.
Odinkalu contrasted Ghana’s poll with a string of elections in Africa this year. Throughout the continent, incumbents had learnt how to use violence, money and constitutional tricks to game the electoral process, he said.
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A 2020 survey by the University of Ghana found that although party loyalty was strong, voters were prepared to switch allegiance, with 54 per cent saying they would vote according to policies and only 7 per cent saying they would do so along ethnic lines.
Although the country’s democracy is stronger today, it’s most recent election this past December was messy—a reminder that the democratic process can be untidy and that maintaining democratic norms requires sustained effort.
Unlike Ghana, the United States is witnessing the tension that others around the globe face during contentious elections. Despite all evidence that the 2020 presidential election was free, fair, and properly managed, the outgoing president continued to dispute the election results before shamefully conceding after the capitol incident although stopped short of congratulating President-elect Joe Biden but acknowledged a transfer of power is now underway.
At this point in Ghana’s 2013 election runoff, Akufo-Addo conceded, choosing the country first and valuing his own legacy. The institutions played their part, and domestic and international pressure helped ensure the norms were followed.
Here are five other elections to watch in Africa in 2021
Uganda
Uganda is bracing for a charged vote this week after a campaign mired in disarray and violence, with President Yoweri Museveni accused of seeking to hold onto power at any cost.
Candidates have been arrested, rallies banned, and dozens of protesters killed in the chaotic and bloody run-up to the January 14 election, which is going ahead despite a surging coronavirus pandemic.
Some 18 million voters are registered for the presidential and parliamentary ballot, which pits Museveni and his dominant National Resistance Movement (NRM) against a host of opposition candidates and parties.
The 76-year-old has been president since 1986, making him one of Africa’s longest-serving leaders.
Museveni’s strongest challenger, a singer-turned-MP called Bobi Wine, has spent most of the campaign in a bulletproof vest and combat helmet, canvassing for votes from the open top of a moving car.
Zambia
Zambia’s presidential elections will be held in August 2021; President Edgar Lungu of the ruling Patriot Front party is seeking his third term in office. His main opponent will be Hakainde Hichilema of the United Party for National Development, who is making his sixth run for the presidency.
The two will likely compete over who is better qualified to repair the economy and the country.
This year, Zambia became the first African country to default on its debt repayments during the COVID-19 pandemic, although most economists said the default wasn’t a complete surprise.
The country’s economy was in bad shape before the pandemic. Zambia is Africa’s second-largest copper producer and copper prices have fallen sharply over the last three years.
Ethiopia
Ethiopians were supposed to go to the polls in August 2020, however, because of COVID 19, the election was postponed by one year till August 2021.
If the vote is held in 2021, it will take place amid considerable turmoil. In late 2019, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed merged the ruling government coalition into a single political party excerpt for Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) who refused to join.
In September 2020, Tigray, which accounts for six percent of Ethiopia’s population, defied the federal government and held regional elections. Two months later, Abiy claimed that Tigrayans had attacked a military base. He ordered military retaliation in response and quickly claimed that federal control had been re-established over Tigray, a development leaving 50,000 Tigrayans displaced.
Abiy was once seen as a leader who would bring stability and prosperity to Ethiopia—he was awarded the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize, however recent trends showed he seems to have turned in an autocratic direction by detaining opposition leaders and suppressing political freedoms.
The Nobel Peace Prize Committee went so far as to rebuke him, saying it was “deeply concerned” by the situation in Tigray.
Libya
National elections in oil-rich Libya will take place on 24 December 2021, which was agreed after a United Nations-led peace talks in Tunisia.
The agreement follows a precarious ceasefire deal in October 2020 between the two major parties in the country’s ongoing civil war; the internationally recognised Government of National Accord led by President Fayez al-Sarraj and the eastern-based Libyan National Army led by military commander Khalifa Haftar.
However, many Libyans remain sceptical that the peace-making efforts will end nearly a decade of chaos and bloodshed following the 2011 NATO-backed uprising against Muammar Gaddafi.
Gambia
The election is scheduled for December 2021. The candidate list remains very much unknown. President Adama Barrow is planning to run for re-election. He defeated former president Yahya Jammeh, who governed for 22 years, in 2016.
Starting with tomorrow’s election in Uganda, these African countries could learn more from Ghana and its democratic system in transferring power.
