Accra, Aug. 13, GNA – Mr Paul Nana Kwabena Aborampah Mensah, Programme Manager at Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), has cautioned Ghanaians against taking the country’s democratic peace for granted.
He said Ghana’s peace was a fragile achievement that required continuous investment, vigilance and sustained engagement among political actors and other stakeholders.
Mr Mensah made the call at an inter-party dialogue organised by the National Peace Council (NPC), in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Catholic Relief Services, under the Political Party Trust Building Programme in Accra.
“Peace is never a self-sustaining asset. It is an ongoing investment that we must all invest in,” he said.
The dialogue focused on addressing media excesses and inflammatory political discourse, as well as strengthening inter-party dialogue and security to sustain Ghana’s democracy and peace.
Mr Mensah said Ghana’s record of organising competitive elections and peacefully transferring political power should not create a false sense of security, noting that peace depended on political actors choosing dialogue over confrontation.
He expressed concern about the human cost of electoral competition, saying 14 citizens had lost their lives during the 2020 and 2024 elections, with eight deaths recorded in 2020 and six in 2024.
“One single loss for political power is one death too many. A democracy that requires human sacrifice to choose its leaders is leaking its moral authority,” he said.
Mr Mensah urged the authorities to ensure that electoral violence was thoroughly investigated and perpetrators prosecuted without political favour.
He said although political actors had resorted to the courts to resolve presidential election disputes in 2012 and 2020, judicial decisions alone could not repair broken political trust.
“A judicial verdict determines who takes the oath of office, but it cannot reconcile a divided electorate or bipartisan animosity,” he said.
Mr Mensah identified heavy security postures during elections, information disorder, socioeconomic exclusion, institutional mistrust and Ghana’s winner-takes-all governance system as structural vulnerabilities that could undermine democratic peace.
He said the winner-takes-all system heightened the stakes of elections because political power was closely associated with access to state resources, public appointments, contracts and economic opportunities.
“When losing an election threatens a citizen’s ability to secure a job, win a tender or feed their family, political competition inevitably becomes ruthless,” he said.
Mr Mensah also warned that the political environment had evolved from seasonal election-year propaganda and political vigilantism to a combination of persistent partisan propaganda, physical attacks and character assassination extending beyond election periods.
He called for inter-party dialogue to be institutionalised and sustained throughout the electoral cycle, rather than being convened only before elections.
Mr Mensah urged political parties to enforce their peace declarations and agreements down to the constituency, electoral-area and branch levels, demonstrate internal discipline and publicly condemn members who incited violence.
He also called on security agencies to demonstrate professionalism, impartiality and transparent communication, particularly during elections.
Most Rev. Emmanuel Kofi Fianu, Chairman of the NPC, said the dialogue formed part of the Council’s quarterly engagement with political parties and sought to address media excesses and inflammatory political discourse that could inflame the political environment.
Mr Niloy Banerjee, UNDP Resident Representative, said the quality of democracy Ghana enjoyed was a strategic asset that must be protected.
He said safeguarding Ghana’s peace and democracy was not solely the responsibility of the NPC but a collective responsibility requiring the active participation of all stakeholders.
GNA
Edited by Kenneth Sackey
Reporter: Hafsa Obeng
[email protected]Â Â