Ghana And Lessons From Morocco’s October 7 Polls

Morocco’s modern electoral system last October 7 chugged past dooms day predictions to deliver smooth and peaceful elections to the country.

This year, 43 per cent of eligible voters cast votes; a drop from the impressive 54 per cent turnout for the regional local elections that took place last fall. Turnout for the 2011 parliamentary election was 46 per cent. This year, turnout in many large cities was above the nation-wide level.

Two parties emerged from the 2016 campaign as clear winners. The Justice and Development Party (JDP), and the Party of Authenticity and Modernity (PAM). The three decades-long cycle of party expansion, contraction, coalition, decline, renewal, demise, (repeat cycle) has now yielded two distinct leading parties. JDP finished with 126 seats (a gain of 19 from 2011) in the new parliament while PAM secured 102 seats (more than double what the party had won in the 2011 elections).

Both parties, with two very different constituencies, claimed a mandate in their own right. The JDP leader, Abdelilah Benkirane, drew inspiration from the electorates’ call for five more years. PAM’s Ilyas El Omari vowed to drive the Moroccan train back to its original rails by containing PJD’s perceived Islamist tendencies.

At the end of the day, the JDP seems to have the upper hand in convincing a wider plurality of voters that the party was committed to its agenda to reform public institutions, among other policy priorities. Those other party policies would, hopefully, help strengthen the economy, but reform was central. It was a simple and focused message. Analysts across Morocco noted the effective messaging of the JDP and the discipline its leaders demonstrated in the public messaging for legislative races.

What worked for the JDP was its impressive messaging and ground game (local grass roots campaigning); precinct meetings, discipline among party leaders, well-attended mass rallies, and a leader who connects with like-minded voters around two primary themes: faith and government reform.

For the retooled PAM its pick-up of 55 seats shows that a relevant message (competence) with an identifiable motivated party base is effective in getting voters to the polls and framing the debate. JDP got its supporters out to the polls, but PAM has shaped a new narrative about leadership in governance and competence in administration that will resonate with many Moroccans.

The 2016 election, with low turnout, showed that voters want to see relevance in politics and political parties. L’Istiqlal, once the pride of center-right politics in Morocco, lost 14 seats. It’s deep roots in Morocco’s political culture (it has often been a champion for reform) will make it an important junior partner in the new parliament. The National Rally of Independents (RNI) lost 15 seats and its leader, Salaheddine Mezouar, resigned days after the election. For the parties that took substantive loses, the elections have demonstrated the need for a proactive platform that speaks to ordinary Moroccans. Coalition building, followed often by frequent contraction, is necessary in a vibrant parliamentary system and it is interesting to political commentators. But it’s of little interest to many Moroccans.

But it is for Ghanaians, especially Ghanaian political parties, fifteen of whom, just two months to this year’s general elections, had their presidential candidates disqualified from the race by the country’s electoral body.

However, disqualification of presidential candidates is not Ghana’s sole worry now.

Doomsayers warn of negative outcomes for the Ghanaian elections which holds on December 7, exactly two months after the Moroccan polls.

A high-level mission of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), African Union (AU) the United Nations (UN) said the country should be wary of the risk of violence ahead of the crucial polls.

The mission acknowledged the genuine risk of electoral skirmishes and pleaded with representatives of all stakeholders, including the political formations, the civil society organizations and the media, to play their part in erasing or mitigating misunderstandings, which carry a potential to tarnish the conduct of the electoral process.

It invited all political parties to avail themselves of existing institutional mechanisms to resolve the various challenges that might arise.

The commission said while Ghana is seen as a model for African stability since attainment of independence from Britain in 1957, the poll is set to offer a stern test coming amid an economic slump, unemployment as well as political and security issues.

The December 7 polls are projected to be a tense affair between the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) of President John Mahama and the main opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP).

But, like Morocco, Ghana’s democracy, despite the dire predictions, appears poised to pass the imminent electoral test.

Over the years, the country has shown significant growth in her capacity to institutionalize democracy, particularly during election periods. The various stakeholders of elections including the media, electorate, security agencies, the electoral commission (EC) and political parties have been educated in diverse ways.

The media has been educated on the need for them to give equal coverage to all political parties and be circumspect, fair and honest in their reportage. Electorates have come to embrace democracy as the best form of government Ghana has ever experienced and in their capacity ensure that they safeguard it.

Civic participation at the grassroots has increased considerably with many citizens engaging in debate and dissent on every day phenomenon affecting the country. Political Party support by party faithful have boosted exceedingly.

The security agencies in Ghana have been equipped on how to combat electoral tensions and ensure the protection of lives before, during and after the elections.

Electoral Commission of Ghana, as the main election organizers, has improved in its operations with much emphasize on ensuring that each election goes on smoothly and fairly.

Nonetheless, there are challenges.
Politics of insults coupled with ethnic based politics rather than issue based politics is sometimes seen. Also, the media and EC face challenges of independence.

They are supposed to be independent bodies in order to be fair in their dealings yet the media tend to be bias and the EC faces challenges of manipulation which hinders them in the course of discharging their duties.

The EC must stand out and refrain from all forms of manipulation and external influences from any group or party.

Campaign messages should be geared towards nation building and addressing of pressing issues facing the country rather than rabble-rousing to provoke the anger of opponents.

Above all, the choice of the people, which is the essence of democracy, must be respected.

This choice must be respected by the politician. Electorates and Security Agencies must endeavor to uphold and defend the peace of the nation respectively.

Election outcomes, as declared by the EC, must be accepted; otherwise, they must be challenged in Court, not by street protests and mass actions.