Elections not do-or-die affair – Kpessa-Whyte

Political Scientist Dr. Michael Kpessa-Whyte is calling on Ghanaians to exhibit calmness and tolerance in the build up to the November 7 polls.

He believes elections are normal contests between people with varied political ideologies and should not lead to violence or actions that will destabilise the peace of the country.

He has advised all politicians to accept the outcome as the results could go in anyone’s favour.

“Election is not a do-or-die affair but just a political contest. Any good, well-meaning politician going into the elections should prepare his mind to accept the results no matter how devastating it could be,” he told Ekow Mensah-Shalders on the Executive Breakfast Show on Class FM Tuesday 5th April, 2016.

On a lighter note he encouraged political leaders to “have a victory speech in one hand and a defeat speech in the other”, in order not to be overtaken by the outcomes of polls.

Dr Kpessa-Whyte, who also commented on the governance structure in the country, said he was an advocate of strong institutional systems that will drive a developmental agenda.

Dr Kpessa-Whyte believed a democratic country like Ghana could thrive if more attention was given to institutions to ensure efficiency and productivity regardless of a change in government.

He argued, “Democracy is built around institutions and should work no matter who should man them. If you have strong institutions, you could even have morons plucked into them and your system will survive. If you have bad or non-existing institutions, that is when you fear which individual is coming and whether we are safe or not.”