T'was the night before Judgement Day and all through the land...

Thursday 29 August 2013 is going to be a historical day in Ghana. On this day, the Supreme Court of Ghana will deliver its judgement on a petition brought before it challenging the results of Ghana election 2012. This is the first time that such a petition has been brought forward and it has been accompanied by televised broadcasts of proceedings at the Supreme Court. It has also been accompanied by somewhat entertaining drama as would be expected from all things politics in Ghana. 

As I watch from afar, I know that Ghanaians have matured past the point that violence is considered a reasonable response to political discontent. However, I cannot help but be wary of the reactions following the announcement of the outcome. In the meantime, I am listening to Lynx Entertainment's "Yen Ara Asaase Ni
(This is our Land)" from 2011. Great version.

T'was the [day of the election] and all through the [land]....#GhanaDecides at last

After years of campaigning Ghana Election 2012 is finally here. Sadly, my view is not of people lining up at my polling station deep in the hinterlands of Ghana but rather of this:

It snowed quite heavy this morning in Holland and although I decided to work from home instead of braving the cold on my bicycle, I must admit that following the election coverage in Ghana is what has occupied most of my day. Please do not tell my supervisor. 

Four years ago around this time, my family and I had all voted. This was after an epic battle the day before to make it into the hinterlands by public transport. It was all extremely stressful but worth it. This year, I am unable to vote but following events keenly from a distance. The internet and social media have revolutionized Ghana election watching from a distance. Four years ago there was Twitter and Facebook and I regularly posted tweets about the journey to vote and the general atmosphere. Four years later, not only has the number of Ghanaian users on Twitter increased exponentially but political parties have come to realize the power of social media. Most candidates have facebook pages and have Twitter accounts. 

Here are some of the trailblazers in revolutionizing Ghana election 2012 via social media:

Ghana Decides: This is a ".....non-partisan project launched on March 24 2012  [that] aims to foster a better-informed electorate for free, fair and safe 2012 Elections using online social media" -Their website.

Not only has Ghana Decides led an active campaign all year to educate potential voters, mobilize people to register as well as vote, but they have also organized several interactive debates and discussions.

JoyFM On Youtube and the IEA Ghana Debates: 

Indeed debates hosted by the Institute of Economic Affairs have been a feature of past elections in Ghana. However, for the first time, the decision by a sitting president to participate in these took the event to a whole new level. Being able to watch the live discussion via the JoyNews Channel on youtube and follow comments on Twitter was nothing short of amazing for me. However, the criteria by which the IEA decides on whom to include in the debate has to be re-examined. Does it make sense to have 4 political parties represented when many more are on the ballot?

Ghana Vote Compass: I must admit I know nothing about how this interactive tool works and the algorithms involved but it is fun and really gets one to reflect on issues rather than personalities and political parties. Sadly, I am not sure that people in Ghana even know the finer details of their political parties' manifestos.  

VoteKast GH: Another great interactive tool with data on past elections in Ghana and hopefully data on election 2012 will be available through this tool as it becomes available. Always interesting to see region by region, constituency by constituency trends. 

Google Ghana: Not only have they hosted interactive discussions via the Google Hangouts+ platform but they have had some cool google doodles along the way. 

Check out the election doodle at google.com.gh which I first saw via a post by fellow blogger Maya Mame.

So as election day comes to a close, I will continue to watch events from a distance hoping that peace and stability are maintained. Will losers concede defeat graciously? Will winners unite the nation? Only time will tell but I hope and pray so.

Ghanapolitics 101: Deja Vu moments and being Too Close to Call

In the Beacon of Democracy, the incumbent and main contender are in an outright fight to the death. A show of hands please for the number of people in the class who thought I was talking about Ghana? Wrong you were. In fact, since 2000, the parallels between the Ghanaian elections and the US elections are a tad eerie. 

Speaking of the US, where terms like Romnesia are new entrants into the political lexicon, a new Gallup poll is describing the upcoming election as "too close to call" .Very reminiscent of the (in)famous US Election 2000. 

Meanwhile, over in the Beacon of African Democracy, Ghana, current events are rapidly evolving the political landscape which are also making election outcomes hard to predict. With just under 50 days to go until poll day, some rules that have applied in recent elections are now being defied /thrown out the window as the soap opera qualities of Ghanaian politics are becoming more apparent.  

Despite the unexpected twists and turns, Ghana Election 2012 is beginning to have a strange deja vu quality reminiscent of Ghana Election 2008 where things were also too close to call:

BBC Focus on Africa magazine cover: 2008

Interestingly, JoyFM's online poll of the moment appears to suggest otherwise. 

Polls on JOY [FM]: "If elections were held today, who would you vote for?"

Fascinatingly, 105,375 people voted in this poll. This is more than any other poll featured on Joy FM's website which usually attracts around 5,000 voters at the most. So where are all these voters coming from in a poll that opened on 11 October 2012?

According to the poll results, 45.14% of voters would vote for the incumbent party the NDC. The poll also predicts that 37.75% of the 105,375 would vote for the newly emergent party the PPP. In 3rd place is the party that is perceived/believed to be the main contender to the incumbent, the NPP commanding 16.71% of the vote. So how credible is this JoyFM poll? Are the PPP being seriously underestimated?

Or is it just a simple case of clear-browsing-history-vote again? So I did try just that to find out. I cleared my browsing history and could in fact vote again.....three times.

The moral of the story is that its important to take polls, predictions and prophesies regarding Ghana election 2012 with a pinch of salt. 

My money is still on the election being way too close to call. What are your thoughts?

Ghanapolitics101: Of Deja Vu and Election 2012

As we draw closer to elections in the Beacon of African Democracy, Ghana, the rapidly evolving political landscape is making election outcomes unclear. With just under 50 days to go to the general elections, some rules that have applied in recent elections are now being defied /thrown out the window as the soap opera quality to politics is becoming more apparent in Ghana. No other figure in Ghanaian contemporary politics is defying the well-established unwritten rules than former President Jerry John Rawlings. Here are some examples:

Sept 19, 2012 : JoyFM- Rawlings endorses [ruling party candidate] Mahama 

Oct 11, 2012 : JoyFM- Rawlings assures [main opposition candidate] Akufo-Addo he may not campaign against him

Oct 15, 2012: BBC - Ghana's Jerry Rawlings 'backs' wife's presidential bid [in a newly formed political party]

Well, it appears Mrs. Rawlings' presidential bid may have been nipped in the bud for now. When it comes to the other front-runners, it is becoming too close to call. Just two weeks ago, it appeared the opposition candidate had the upper hand. He was criss-crossing the country with his vision of free senior high school education and had a rather quizzical photo-op meeting with the former president Mr. Rawlings. Government communicators downplayed this meeting at the same time and at the same time punched serious holes in the free secondary high school plan without articulating a clear alternative. A week later, President Mahama gives a stellar performance at the IEA encounter. Luckily for him, none of the questions he was asked by the audience dealt with some of the nagging questions on corruption.

Interesting, three other parties, the PNC, CPP and PPP have all announced female running mates. Some have viewed these moves as mere window-dressing ploys to appeal to women voters. Speaking of women in Ghanaian politics, I participated in a lively Twitter debate on this topic on Friday hosted by GhanaDecides. Many commentators emphasized that competence of women politicians should be key of course without questioning the competence of male politicians. Anyway, that is a topic for another blogpost. 

Despite the unexpected twists and turns, Ghana Election 2012 is beginning to have a strange deja vu quality reminiscent of Election 2008: it is all turning out too close to call.

BBC Focus on Africa magazine cover: 2008

Interestingly, JoyFM's poll of the moment appears to suggest differently. 

Polls on JOY [FM]: "If elections were held today, who would you vote for?"

That is, if we are to believe that 105,375 voted in this poll which is about 1000 times the usual number of voters on 'Polls on Joy' and that 39,9779 people would vote for the PPP. My money is still on the election being too close to call.

As the week drew to a close, the Electoral Commission announced what the ballot paper will look like on December 7th. 

JoyFM: Prez Mahama is Number 1, Akufo-Addo No. 3 on ballot paper

Apparently, prophets all over Ghana have had the nation in rapt attention over the prophetic significance of the ballot positions. 

Ghana Politics 101: The Radio Lawyer

Anyone keeping up with Ghana politics will know that it is reaching a whole new level of farcical. It is a never-ending theatrical drama with comedy, irony, absurdity and of course tragedy. But that is another post for another day. One of the key actors actively involved in this drama is the "Radio Lawyer" a term that is worthy of an entry in the Ghanaian Political Lexicon for the Aspiring Politician. 

1. Radio Lawyer: any politician, journalist or social commentator who is a regular panelist on one of the many political discussion programmes aired on Ghanaian radio who provides legal interpretations. The radio lawyer will preface their submission with "I am not a lawyer but..." and then proceed to discuss cases pending in court, give legal opinions and also buttress their arguments with references to the Ghanaian constitution. The radio lawyer will vehemently argue the law with real lawyers and perhaps muddy issues which may mislead the public. The radio lawyer is actually not just restricted to radio but you may find "lawyers" giving opinions in public transport, work place canteens or even markets. In reality, Ghana is not only a country of 25 million football coaches, 25 million political commentators but also 25 million lawyers. 

Does the Ghanaian Cedi have Election Year Blues?

There has been quite a lot in the news lately about the Ghanaian cedi falling to record low levels. It was this tweet from one of my Ghana Tweeps (Twitter-peeps) that got me thinking about the freefalling cedi:

@Kwabena i am no economist but if you paid attention to the cedi in 2000 and 2008, you should know what's going on.#Ghana

So what exactly does happen to the cedi in election years? Thanks to my big brother who introduced me to Oanda and their amazing currency tools, I was able to find out. The graph below shows the value of one US dollar to the Ghanaian cedi from January 2000 to March 2012. Calculations were based on the old Ghana cedi exchange rate since the conversion to the new Ghana cedi took place within this period. The y-axis shows the increase in numeric value of the cedi. At the start of the graph back in January 2000, 1 USD = 2,500 cedis (approximately). By March 2012, the exchange rate was 1 USD to 17,279.4 cedis (1,73 GHS).

Historical Currency Rate (picture is a weird size)
Source: Oanda.com 

Interestingly, Kwabena was right. The cedi did drop in value dramatically in 2000 and 2008 which were both election years. Very curiously, the cedi remained quite stable against the dollar in 2004 which was also an election year. So economist types, please tell me, why does the value of the cedi drop during an election year? In other words, why does the cedi have election year blues?

REPOST: Ghana Politics 101: To avoid unnecessary damage, control your loose cannons

Very recent events in the BAD (Beacon of African Democracy), Ghana, have prompted me to repost this from 2010. Clearly politicians in Ghana never seem to heed advice proffered freely in my lectures for Ghana Politics 101. Maybe they are all taking the course pass-fail. 

Cannons at Fort Antonio in Axim in the Western Region, Ghana
Source:  My personal album of fabulous pics

In military history, cannons transformed the art of warfare and were essential artillery for some key battles dating back to Ancient China. Cannons were also vital to naval combat and the phrase 'loose cannon' alludes to the fact that if your cannons were not secure, they were likely to roll about on deck and cause damage to your ship.  It is not surprising therefore that modern English has adopted the term:

Main Entry: loose cannon

Function: noun

: a dangerously uncontrollable person or thing

Source: Merriam-Oxford Dictionary Online

Over the years, a number of colourful 'loose cannons' have dotted the Ghanaian political landscape. Just like improperly secured cannons, these are usually from one's own armory and cause damage to one's own interests.

Class, the take-home message is simple: if you do not want your political opponents to make mischief of ambiguous statements emerging from your camp, then control your  loose cannons. If you are unable to do so, the ensuing damage could be serious. You would then be forced to field spokespeople who have the excruciating task of explaining the indefensible to the general public. At that point, you just have to hope that the spokespeople are able to use enough circular logic to dazzle the populace and prevent further questions.

I got the (Biometric Voter's Registration) Blues - Observing Ghana go Biometric from a distance

The 2008 Election summed and effectively captured 

Election year is here again in the country I call the Beacon of African Democracy -Ghana. On December 7^th 2012, Ghanaians will go to the polls for the 6^th time since what is known in Ghanaian history as "the return to democratic rule" in 1992. This return heralded a new political era in Ghana known as ‘The Fourth Republic’.  Since the start of The Fourth Republic, the Ghanaian electoral process has gone on successfully although not always so smoothly. Some called the 1992 election a farce but then again there were similar grievances with the 1996, 2000, 2004 and even the 2008 elections.

Ah but who could forget the down-to-the-wire 2008 election? It ended up being the stuff movies are made of…literally. I kid you not. Apparently the behind-the-scenes electioneering of this election are chronicled in the film, An African Election by Swiss-born actor/producer/director of Ghanaian descent - Jarreth Merz.

Being a Ghanaian citizen of age and sound mind (I hope) and having relocated to Ghana almost a decade ago, I have not taken my constitutional right to vote lightly. I was proud to vote in the 2008 election but was shocked at the level of apathy when it came to voting in general. There was apathy from rural-folk living in agricultural communities who felt that regardless of whomever was in power their lives would remain the same. Interestingly, I also observed apathy coming from highly educated urban individuals some of whom arrogantly postured that the 2008 election would be decided by rural folk anyway so they would not bother voting. Hopefully, the newly launched Ghana Decides project and similar initiatives will succeed in getting more of both of these groups involved in exercising their franchise in Election 2012.

Alas I digress. Before I was distracted by Election 2008, I meant to talk about what makes Election 2012 different from other elections conducted under the banner of the Fourth Republic. Well, maybe it is because modern technology is coming to the aid of our never-ending quest for transparent and democratic elections in Ghana. This year, after many calls, the Ghanaian Electoral Commission has decided to adopt a biometric registration process. Interestingly, I blogged about moving to electronic voting in 2009 with a post entitled Mayhem in Akwatia: Isn't Ghana ready for Electronic Voting yet? However, biometric registration and verification is NOT going to mean electronic voting at least not for Election 2012. 

My initial excitement over the introduction of biometric registration turned bittersweet quite quickly. This is simply because I will not be in Ghana for most of 2012 and the narrow window in which biometric registration will take place will not afford me the opportunity to participate. So just like that, I find myself disenfranchised. As if this was not clear already, the Electoral Commission came out recently to reiterate the point that all old voter identification cards will be null and void. 

Since the biometric registration exercise started, I have actively been following the process from a distance via online radio, social media and personal accounts from people in Ghana. At first complaints revolved around lack of information concerning the exercise in general. Later there were reports in the media on attempts to influence the process as well as acts of violence in some parts of the country. However, so far, the biometric registration appears to be going smoothly albeit slowly.

People patiently waiting for biometric registration

Source: JoyFM

Perhaps I am being cynical and a little bit bitter but I can already foresee that by the end of the allocated registration period, not everyone wishing to register will be registered. In the meantime, I will be watching from a distance enviously admiring pictures I've seen of people holding up their new voter cards. I will also keep looking for narrow windows of my own; windows that will allow me to hopefully swing by Ghana to participate in the process. After all, being able to vote for one’s leaders is a privilege that cannot be taken for granted.


P.S. This post also appears on the new website for Ghana Decides, a BLoGHA initiative that employs social media into getting the Ghanaian electorate more informed. The power of social media and technology at work.