“There is a semblance of the rule of law in the country and an adherence to some human rights. Parliament is somewhat functioning and the Judiciary is plodding on. The institutions of state appear to be functioning; civil society is harping on and occasionally struggling to be heard. Political parties are barely existing,” he stated.
According to Mr Bimi, the media, both print and electronic, were also “shouting hoarse in their new-found freedom. These are what the pundits and observers have seen and concluded that Ghana is a democratic country”.
What Ghana had, according to him, could best be described as “a virtual democratic country”.
Mr Bimi, who was speaking on the theme, “The State of Ghana’s Democracy, 2011”, observed that even though Ghana had made enormous strides in its march to democracy, tribalism and ethnicity were still much a feature of society, with tribal tendencies affecting even the political administration of the country.
Currently, he said, about 85 per cent of the Ghanaian population were in the rural areas ruled by chiefs, noting that that posed a challenge, since “the traditional governance system is a counter-weight to liberal democratic development”.
Mr Bimi described as unacceptable the fact that people insulted the President on a daily basis when those same people gave so much respect and reverence to their chiefs.
Youth unemployment, he further stated, should be addressed to consolidate the nation’s democratic gains, adding, “Unless we take serious and frontal steps to address the deficits in our democratic practices such as youth unemployment, we run the risk of running into turbulence with unpalatable consequences.”
The Omanhen of the Oguaa Traditional Area, Osabarima Kwesi Atta II, called on the NCCE to deepen political education in order to promote tolerance between the political divide.
The Executive Secretary of the National Identification Authority (NIA), Dr William Ahadzie, described the celebration as a reality check on Ghana’s democracy, after which the weaknesses would be identified and the strengths consolidated.
A Senior Fellow at the Institute of African Studies of the University of Ghana, Legon, Dr Micheal Kpessah, observed that corruption must be checked and explained that failure by the government to do so could undermine Ghana’s democratic gains.
Speaking on the topic, “Ghana’s Democratic Development since 1992: Prospects and Deficits”, Dr Kpessah appealed to members of the Constitution Review Commission to allow a presidential candidate defeated in an election to be part of the Legislature, so that every vote would count.
He said if Ghana must avoid the current political upheavals and insecurity in Cote d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso and Nigeria, then politicians must be guided by ideas and refrain from insults.
“The current situation where political parties demand exorbitant filing fees from aspiring members of Parliament is not a healthy development, as it will only increase corruption,” he said.
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