Ghana may not be luck in 2016 - Rev. Asante

Chairman of the National Peace Council, Reverend Professor Emmanuel Asante, has stated that Ghana may not be lucky to come out of the 2016 elections considering the deepening of the politics of exclusion being propelled by political parties in the country.

He said the winner-takes-all practice, which promotes the exclusion of persons from other political parties from contributing to the process of governance, or failure of a government in power to acknowledge the opposition for using its policies is alien to the spirit and tenor of the constitution of Ghana.

This he said made every election a do or die affair.

He said among the directive principles of state policy is the charge in Article 35:6d to: “make democracy a reality by decentralising the administrative and financial machinery of government to the regions and district and by affording all possible opportunities to the people to participate in the decision-making at every level in national life and in government”.

He said the state has the responsibility to ensure equal and balanced access to means of livelihood for all citizens irrespective of their place of origin, circumstances of birth, ethnic origin, gender or religion, creed or other beliefs.

Rev. Asante made the observation during a public lecture in Accra organized by IBIS Ghana, an NGO, on the theme “Democratic consolidation: The way forward for Ghana’s two decades of democracy and good governance experimentation – The Winner Takes All system under review.”

Rev. Asante, a Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church - Ghana said: “Exclusiveness in my view, can be extended to situations in which the ruling party borrows the ideas of other parties but refuses to give due acknowledgement to them. It also involves the exclusion of personnel from the governance process regardless of their abilities or skills, because of their different philosophies of governance and political persuasions.”

He said ruling parties should not feel ashamed to publicly acknowledge that another party might have suggested certain policies they are pursuing to them; declaring that this is rather a mark of political maturity, and the nation stands to gain from this attitude in the long run.

He said the politics of exclusiveness has been one of the major characteristics of Ghana’s multi-party democracy; adding that from the country’s experience, a number of factors responsible for this are the weak base of political parties, ethnicity, nepotism, mistrust of other political parties and the desire to remain in power indefinitely.

“Democracy as a rule of the people calls for the politics of inclusion, which promotes participation, cohesion and peace,” the National Peace Council Chairman stated.

He said the close margins of the presidential elections in recent times show that the two leading parties; the National Democracy Congress and the New Patriotic Party appear to have equal strength.

He said in such a context, characterised by equal political strength, the practice of the politics of exclusion among other things, would always create violent-laden tension in the country during election periods.

Rev. Asante observed that in the 2008 and 2012 general election, the nation came close to conflicts; which were avoided; “but we may not be luck in 2016”.

“So we urge political parties to listen carefully and begin to talk with each other,” he noted.

Mr Chals Wontewe, Country Director of IBIS – Ghana said many Ghanaians who would be affected by the type of political system being operated are not informed about the alternative systems.