With barely thirty days to go for Ghana\u2019s seventh successive elections in the fourth republic, the democratic credentials of the country are once again up for scrutiny. This will be against the backdrop that Ghana is seen by many as the beacon of hope and the model of democracy in Africa. A feather in our cap is the fact that the country\u2019s democracy passed the coveted Huntington\u2019s test of democratic development in 2008 when the country conducted its second successful changeover from one political party to the other.<\/p>\n
From the viewpoint of an observer of the political space, the election is one that will be down to the wire; owing to the incumbent NDC\u2019s desire to win a second term for President Mahama vis-\u00e0-vis the NPP\u2019s rock-solid resolve not to allow the NDC \u201cenjoy\u201d twelve continuous years in office. Then, there is the stark reality that this could be the last opportunity for the NPP flagbearer Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo to have a fair shot at the Presidency of a country whose politics he has been involved in since his early \u201cthirties\u201d. The referee for the contest; the Electoral Commission in spite of the initial disagreement with some political parties on mainly procedural matters seem to be ready now to deliver what they term world class elections (never mind the disqualification brouhaha).<\/p>\n
My challenge however is with the class of citizens I call the unperturbed. Yes!! The Unperturbed. I have termed them so because of their sheer nonchalance to what is going on in the country\u2019s political space a few months to such a crucial election. You may say that they have been bitten by the bug of voter apathy and you would not be far from correct.<\/p>\n
Historically, Ghana\u2019s elections at least in the fourth republic have been characterized by appreciable numbers in terms of turn out for the Presidential elections. From 50.1% in 1992 which went up to 78.2% in 1996 then down to 61.7% in the democratically pivotal election 2000,85.1 in 2004, 72.9% in the second turning point election of 2008 and 80.1% in 2012.<\/p>\n
Political scientists typically\u00a0measure turnout by looking at\u00a0votes cast as a percentage of eligible voters. By this measure, our democracy has not been bad. The danger however lies in the people who have decided that there is no difference in terms of the output of the Ghana\u2019s bi-partisan duopoly (The governing National Democratic Congress and the opposition New Patriotic Party) For them, these parties are all the same and they would promise heaven on earth when in opposition only to deliver corruption and underdevelopment when they get the people\u2019s nod. The unfulfilled one time NHIS premium payment promise of the NDC in 2008 and the conversion of all chop-bars into restaurants promise in 2000 by the NPP are instances that come in handy to back their point.<\/p>\n
What is more frightening is the fact that majority of this class of the unperturbed are people in the middle class bracket of our society. People who have had the benefit of the education, Ghana provides and yet have decided not to take part in the political process because for them the system is too corrupt to accept their ideas and by extension their votes.<\/p>\n
Thus, they would not even waste their time to join the queue to vote. My disappointment with this segment of the unperturbed is their unwillingness to use the clout they have to initiate the change they desire in our political space. A study of the group of nations who are known as the emerging powers in international relations, the likes of India, Mexico, and Brazil reveal that the middle class played a pivotal role in their journey from underdevelopment just a few years ago to the giant development strides they are making now.<\/p>\n
Our middle class cannot afford to stay out of the country\u2019s political and policy space. From what has been witnessed so far, this year\u2019s election is proving to be one that has generated considerable debate on issues from the feasibility of the NPPs \u201cone this one that\u201d set of policies to the NDC\u2019s one child one tablet and the promise of putting money in people\u2019s pockets if they are given a second term.<\/p>\n
The opportunity thus presents itself for those with the sophistication to understand the real issues to engage the political class the more, as a means of fine-tuning the ideas which may be used to govern the entire populace over the next four years.<\/p>\n
Failure to do that will give politicians the leeway to continue doing what they have done over the past twenty four years-finding it difficult to posit and implement far reaching solutions to the country\u2019s structural developmental problems. It\u2019s not my desire to end on this note but I feel that the Unperturbed in Ghana\u2019s political space need to be reminded of what Plato said in the Golden age of Pericles Athenian era that \u201cOne of the penalties for refusing to participate in\u00a0politics\u00a0is that you end up being governed by your inferiors. The teeming mass of Ghanaians who understand the issues of the day must not fold their arms in despair and complain. December 7th<\/sup> and the processes leading to it must serve as the Eureka moment for the unperturbed.<\/p>\n –<\/p>\n By: Duke Mensah Opoku\/citifmonline.com\/Ghana<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" With barely thirty days to go for Ghana\u2019s seventh successive elections in the fourth republic, the democratic credentials of the country are once again up for scrutiny. This will be against the backdrop that Ghana is seen by many as the beacon of hope and the model of democracy in Africa. A feather in our […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":232540,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[374,11],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n