Disputed Presidential Elections in Ghana since 1992

Presidential elections in Ghana, since the beginning of the Fourth Republic, have been marred by disputes, casting a shadow on the country’s democratic credentials, and the fairness of the Electoral Commission of Ghana. The 1992 presidential election was expected to solidify Ghana’s commitment to multi-party democracy. Allegations of electoral fraud and irregularities always stain the entire electoral process and the impartiality of the EC and its leaders.

Ghana’s journey towards democratic consolidation has been marked by persistent electoral disputes. These challenges have tested and built the resilience of the democratic institutions of Ghana, especially the Electoral Commission of Ghana. The 2012 and 2020 presidential elections have underscored the importance of using legal and constitutional mechanisms to resolving electoral disputes. In analysing the causes of the disputes, the role of the Electoral Commission of Ghana, the conduct of the political parties, the media and independent observers in all the presidential elections since 1992 must be examined critically.

International observers always pronounce the elections as free and fair from their independent observations. They generally regard the elections as credible and well-organised. Yet opposition parties dispute the electoral results from the polls. The conclusions of these groups highlight a transparent conduct of elections that are in line with democratic principles, contributing to Ghana’s reputation for strong democratic practices in West Africa and Africa as a whole. International observers always recognize Ghana’s efforts to maintain a robust electoral process, enhancing its democratic governance and setting a positive example for its peers in the sub-region.

As objective eyewitnesses, can the opinions of these groups be expressed in a manner that all political parties in the country will find as credible as the evidence the parties themselves gather from the polling stations. The 2012 presidential election gave adequate reasons to doubt the opinions of the observer groups. There were instances of irregularities in the 2012 presidential election as demonstrated in the Supreme Court of Ghana during the 2013 presidential election petition case – though the irregularities were not substantial to overturn the results declared. Apart from the recorded cases of irregularities in the 2012 presidential elections, there is no evidence to controvert the unbiased opinion of the observer groups.

The Electoral Commission of Ghana is always the first to be accused of any disputed presidential elections in Ghana. Opposition parties (the NPP and NDC, any time they are in opposition) fault the Commission of scheming with ruling parties to rig the elections. The EC is often censured by opposition parties of allowing ruling parties to perpetuate fraud, use unapproved procedures (irregularities) and other mischievous means to win presidential elections. Yet, the EC was only found guilty on one occasion, in the conduct of the 2012 presidential election: there was evidence to validate the irregularities in that election at the Supreme Court of Ghana. Evidence of over-voting constrained four out of the nine justices to grant the relief of over-voting. The 2020 presidential election petition case lacked evidence and merit, as there was no proof of the alleged irregularities.

The EC cannot absolve itself of the faulty administrative responsibilities of its contracted employees. Its delegated officials, people who are temporarily employed to aid in the conduct of elections, often engage in faulty administrative activities that lead to the fraud and irregularities – as seen in the 2012 presidential election. Thus, the EC has been a fair mediator in conducting elections in Ghana.

The NDC or NPP in opposition always disputes presidential election results. The NPP disputed the 1992 presidential election results, alleging that there were electoral fraud and irregularities in the process. The allegations of fraud, irregularities and lack of transparency set the precedence for future electoral disputes. There were accusations of vote rigging and media bias in favour of the incumbent in the 1996 presidential election. The opposition party accepted the results and victory of the NDC with some reservations eventually.

The 2000 election was a watershed moment, resulting in the first peaceful transfer of power between political parties in Ghana’s history. There were initial tensions and accusations of voter suppression. The NPP’s candidate secured a second term in the 2004 presidential election, but not without controversies. The opposition party, the NDC, alleged widespread of irregularities that influenced the party to dispute the results declared by the EC.

Ghana demonstrated growing political maturity after the 2008 presidential election. The election went to a runoff and the NDC’s candidate narrowly emerged victorious. There were accusations of vote tampering which impaired the integrity of the 2008 presidential election. The peaceful resolution of the dispute exposed Ghana’s political maturity.

In all these disputes, there were not satisfactory evidence to test the electoral laws of Ghana at the Supreme Court. The 2012 presidential election presented a test case for the Supreme Court of Ghana to apply the rules in determining the validity of the election of the President - Article 64(1). The NPP showed evidence of the allegation of widespread irregularities – though they were not enough to overturn the results declared.

International observer groups should strive to be fair in assessing the conduct of elections in Ghana to be a fountain of evidence for resolving post-election disagreement between major contending parties in Ghana. The observer groups should continue to report on issues that actually happen during the conduct of presidential and other elections in Ghana.

The two major political parties in Ghana, the NDC and NPP, will always dispute election results as they always consider the EC an enemy and partial in conducting elections in the country. They should always use the available legal and constitutional mechanisms to resolve electoral disputes. No institution or individual will be successful in advising these two parties to desist from making public allegations of fraud and irregularities in presidential elections even if they do not occur.

The Electoral Commission of Ghana should find a remedy to the embarrassing declaration of presidential election results in 2020. There should be internal institutional mechanism to verify collated results before their eventual declaration to the public. The EC must show its maturity and experience gained in conducting elections in Ghana. There should not be correction and re-correction of declared results. Such an act impairs the integrity of the results and the work of the Commission. The general conduct of the 2020 presidential election was appropriate, as the opposition party, the NDC, could not show evidence of irregularities at the Supreme Court in the 2020 presidential election petition. The EC should admonish its contracted staff to exercise caution and be vigilant in conducting their administrative duties.

The media in Ghana has grown numerically within a short time period, but the media lacks maturity in covering presidential elections in Ghana. The last two elections provide evidence of lack of maturity of the media in being circumspect concerning calling elections for a particular party. Some media houses declare the election results before the EC, the institution mandated to undertake such an exercise. The media can fuel election disputes through their early declarations. There must be new guidelines for the media on reporting presidential election results – for mainstream media, social media and others. There is persistent misinformation by some of the media houses in declaring collated results.

In recent years, the Electoral Commission – in the 2012 and 2020 elections and the media in their early declarations have prompted the disputes. The EC must conduct the elections fairly and in a manner that all average thinking persons will find its declared results credible.

Emmanuel Kwabena Wucharey
Economics Tutor, Advocate and Religion Enthusiast.