Let’s work towards credible elections — Kofi Annan
A former Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), Mr Kofi Annan, has stated that the credibility of this year’s general election will depend on the principles of inclusiveness, transparency and accountability.
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He has, therefore, stressed the need for stakeholders to manage the elections such that they would be seen to be credible and the results deemed legitimate.
Mr Annan said it was also important that the electorate had confidence in the electoral process.
He was delivering a paper at the 12th Kronti ne Akwamu lecture organised by the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD). It was on the topic “Credible and Peaceful Elections: A Prerequisite for Africa’s Progress.”
Mr Annan said elections were an avenue for the arbitration of political rivalries, peaceful and democratic rotation of leadership, and pointed out that if political rivals and their supporters did not believe the electoral process to be free and fair, they would ultimately resort to less peaceful means to change political direction.
“We must not allow the streets to take the place of the ballot box,” he urged, and called for the harmonisation of the various processes in the run up to the November elections.
Political equality
Mr Annan stressed the need for institutions, processes and behaviours that were vital to genuine multiparty competition because that bestowed legitimacy on the winner, provided security for the losers and brought the winner-takes-all phenomenon that discouraged democratic practice to an end.
The integrity of the elections, he said, required political equality. He, therefore, condemned vote buying and bribing of candidates, saying these were counter-productive to the democratic process.
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Mr Annan also called for the removal of barriers that prevented voting and the wider participation of the marginalised.
Too often, women, young people, minorities and other marginalised groups are not given a full opportunity to exercise their democratic rights.
“Vote buying and bribery by candidates, organised crime, have to be prevented,” he said.
Mr Annan called for the strengthening of the rule of law to protect the rights of voters and candidates in order to boost the capacity of professionals and independent bodies to manage elections to make results legitimate.
Work-in-progress
The former UN Secretary-General described Ghana’s democracy as ‘work-in-progress’, since, like others, it had not achieved fullness. He, therefore, urged all stakeholders to work hard at sustaining the process towards its desired end.
“It is up to you and the next generation; the young men and women, to work towards deepening and sustaining the democratic ideal,” Mr Annan urged.
He said preserving and deepening democratic credentials were crucial for the country’s future prosperity and peace to guarantee fundamental human aspiration that allowed citizens to live as free men and women.
Mr Annan said the country had undergone several successful democratic transitions to earn the accolade ‘model of democracy in Africa’ and reiterated his call on stakeholder institutions to work harder to ensure continuous peaceful polls.
He noted that both the society and economy had thrived since democracy was reintroduced.
“We must never stop reminding ourselves of the fact that yes, our country has its problems, but all countries have problems,” Mr Annan pointed out.
“In the long run, however, criticism and public debate should lead to reforms which make democracies resilient while dictatorships are fundamentally brittle.” he added.
The former UN Secretary-General emphasised that deepening the democratic process was crucial and that it did not matter in the end who won, for as long as the country won.
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He condemned the situation where some political leaders tended to manipulate the electoral process and created an uneven playing field thus subverting the legal and democratic system leading to a “rule by law and not rule of law.”
“Democracy without credible elections is not democracy at all,” he stated.