Saturday 7th January 2023 marked 30 years of the Fourth Republican Parliament of Ghana’s inception, after eleven years of military rule and promulgation of the 1992 Constitution.
This marks 30 years of uninterrupted parliamentary democracy, which started on January 7, 1993. The journey for a return to parliamentary democracy started against the backdrop of the wind of change that blew across Africa; with key stakeholders, including Ghana’s development partners, demanding more representative and accountable governance in return for donor support.
The military ruler at the time, Jerry John Rawlings, was quoted as saying that ‘democracy is a useless piece of paperwork’ – a statement indicating his strong opposition to civilian rule because he had enjoyed power through decrees and orders. But like other military dictators in West Africa, time had run out for Rawlings… who grudgingly agreed to a marred roadmap for returning Ghana to democratic rule.
As things turned out, Rawlings and his Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) military regime dictated the rules in its favour: such as having the presidential and parliamentary elections on separate days; using opaque ballot boxes instead of transparent ones; and finally, using voter-identification cards without pictures.
The opposition were so complacent and sure of victory that they pliantly agreed to these electoral rules without questioning the possibility of rigging and a flawed election. Some analysts think the opposition parties should have insisted on a level playing field as a condition for a return to democratic rule, even if it meant that the PNDC would stay in power for another one or two years for a flawless roadmap to be agreed upon.
Incumbency
After the presidential elections, opposition parties catalogued a long list of electoral malpractices which gave the incumbent an advantage – hence the decision to boycott parliamentary elections a day after the presidential elections. With hindsight, many analysts think the opposition parties erred and indeed betrayed Ghanaians by boycotting the parliamentary elections. The net result was a one-sided (189 out of 200) seats in parliament for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) of the incumbent president, Jerry John Rawlings.
In fact, the opposition’s boycott of parliamentary elections in 1992 gave the NDC a stranglehold over some seats, which the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has been struggling to regain since 1992.
Some of these seats are in the Ashanti Region: the heart of the NPP.
Hawa Yakubu
That said, a critical analysis of parliamentary democracy in Ghana cannot ignore the indelible role played by the late Hawa Yakubu, Honourable Independent Member of Parliament for Bawku Central. Against all odds, Hawa Yakubu stood as an independent candidate and won convincingly; and thus became the lone voice – and in fact the conscience – of parliamentary democracy between 1992 and 1996. Her bold stance in parliament against the ruling NDC’s huge majority, whose MPs massively toed the party line, will remain an epic period in the history of Ghana’ parliamentary democracy.
Undoubtedly, Ghana’s parliament is currently one of the most stable and phenomenal case-studies in Africa. The membership has also grown since its inception: from 200 MPs in 1993 to 230 MPs at the beginning of the 4th Parliament in 2005, and to 275 MPs at the beginning of the 6th Parliament in 2013. This increase in number however comes at huge cost to the taxpayer, with many people questioning why a country with a population of 31 million would have 275 MPs, compared with a developed country like Great Britain with a population of more than 55 million that has less MPs.
Between dictatorship and democracy
According to development literature, the liberal democracy that Ghana is currently practicing is the best form of governance because policies and decisions are made by the electorate through their representatives. Political accountability is measured through so-called free and fair elections, in which all adults of sound mind have the right to vote and elect leaders. Citizens under this arrangement are deemed to have the right to express their views without fear; they can also support ideologies of their choice, provided the ideologies do not contravene the Constitution and/or other cultural and social norms.
Despite its limitation of failing to promote the welfare of the grassroots, parliamentary democracy has been hailed as the best vehicle for promoting political change; of moving from less accountable to more accountable governance; from less competitive to more competitive elections; from severely restricted to less restricted and better protected civil and political rights; and from weak autonomous associations to stronger institutions and associations.
In short, democratisation should involve actions, choices and initiatives of individuals and groups which combine the elements of agency and representation. This is the path Ghana has chosen to follow since 1993.
Beacon of democracy
In an address to parliament marking its 30 years of existence, President Akufo-Addo stated that Ghana has become a beacon of democracy and stability in Africa: because it promotes respect for the principles of democratic accountability, human rights and the rule of law. These liberal virtues have enabled Ghanaians to oversee eight presidential elections in the 4th Republic, with five presidential transitions and three peaceful transfers of power from one party to another through the ballot box.
“We have every right to be proud of this, and celebrating the 30th anniversary of the 4th Republic should inspire us, even further, to hold onto this status,” he stated.
In fact, this is first time in Ghana’s 66 years of independence that a constitutional order has lasted 30 years. After 1957, when the First Republic lasted seven years, the following attempts in 1969 and 1980 were interrupted by military coups in 1972 and 1981. Ghana’s successes in parliamentary democracy and political stability were achieved against the background of incessant military coups and instability in Burkina Faso, Mali and Guinea. This perhaps justifies why the celebration of Republic Day on July 1 was recently replaced by Constitution Day on 7th January.
Monetisation of primaries
A major blot on the credibility of parliamentary democracy in Ghana is the issue of vote-buying during parliamentary primaries and the substantive elections. Some political experts have voiced concerns over corrupting the election of parliamentary primaries among the two major political parties – the NPP and NDC. Delegates of both political parties have described primaries as windfall or ‘cocoa’ season for them to make money – and often demand huge monies from prospective candidates in exchange for votes.
Vote selling and also buying extends to the approval of presidential nominees for the position of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executive. Assembly members also demand huge monies before voting to approve the nominees. In fact, the Majority Leader Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu lamented that the monetisation of parliamentary primaries in Ghana is leading to high attrition of experienced Members of Parliament; thus denying the House capacity for high-calibre parliamentary debates and law-making. As things stand now, unless the electorate are sensitised to be wary of vote-buyers, drug-dealers will soon take over parliament and possibly the presidency.
Image of Parliament
Many Ghanaians are unhappy with the conduct of current Members of Parliament. In January 2022, members of Ghana’s new parliament engaged in scuffles and un-parliamentary conduct that undermined the brand of parliament as a standard-bearer of our democracy. For the first time, the two major political parties held the same number of seats (137-137) – with an Independent Member tilting the balance in favour of the ruling NPP.
This resulted to a hung-parliament, which makes the current parliament an interesting case study. By giving parliament an equal number of seats, perhaps the electorate anticipated that our MPs would promote national interest through consensus and collaboration. But parliamentary conduct has not lived up to expectations of the electorate. Thus, if parliamentary democracy was supposed to restore hope to the people, the current parliament – which is the eighth parliament of the Fourth Republic – is not inspiring hope in many Ghanaians.
Separation of powers
Some analysts argue that the uniqueness of Ghana’s parliament is due to its hybrid nature, which is a combination of the British parliamentary and American presidential systems. Though some analysts think the current arrangement has put Ghana in a unique position among its peers, others think Ghana is rather confused. The mixed feelings have prompted debates on whether Ghana should return to the practice of strict separation of powers. A strict separation of powers would restrict MPs to their legislative role, devoid of dual roles as ministers of state.
Consequently, there are fresh demands for an amendment to the 1992 Constitution – to review the provision of appointing two-thirds of ministers from parliament. It is argued that the current arrangement undermines the authority of parliament to have legislative oversight over the executive. Under the current arrangement, MPs hoping to be appointed as ministers will pander to executive interests in order to catch the president’s eye. Therefore, the Majority Leader has advocated for Constitutional reforms to limit the number of ministerial appointments any president of the Republic can make.
Coup-mongers
No matter the inherent limitations and cost of parliamentary democracy, I urge Ghanaians to do everything possible to protect and sustain our democracy. In 2022, several interest groups – including journalists wearing political colours – started agitating for a military coup in Ghana. Those demands and agitations were coming from very prominent politicians and academics, to the surprise of many well-meaning Ghanaians. These agitations often heighten when some people’s political elements are not in power and they start dreaming of a shortcut to power. After 30 years of parliamentary democracy, regime-change through credible elections should be the norm. Let it be known to the coup-mongers that their wishes are outdated and have no place among right-thinking people.
Credible elections
Moving forward, all stakeholders – political parties, churches, organised labour, civil society, students and Ghana’s development partners – should promote credible elections and agree on modalities for all political parties to abide by the outcomes of elections.
In his speech, President Akufo-Addo noted: “We have held elections that were not free and fair; we have had constitutional regimes without limitations placed on executive power; we have had rule by law without rule of law; and we have lived under a number of military dictatorships; and acknowledged that the strength of any democracy is determined by the credibility of its electoral process, and respect for the will of the people.
“That is why we in Ghana must continue urging the Electoral Commission to work on ensuring that all stakeholders in the electoral process – the citizenry, civil society and political parties – do not have lingering questions about the legitimacy of an election.”
Furthermore, our judicial system must be truly independent and remain the final and impartial arbiter of election disputes. Thankfully, on the two occasions in which disputes have arisen over the results of presidential elections, it was in the courts, and not on the streets, that the issues were satisfactorily resolved, according to President Akufo-Addo.
We have come a long way after 30 years of parliamentary democracy, yet we must be alert that there are miscreants in Ghana whose sole desire is to undermine our current democratic journey. As President Akufo-Addo noted: “We still have some work to do to in convincing such people that we are all safer under democracy”.
