The Convener of Let My Vote Count Alliance (LMVCA) Mr. David Asante has indicated that the issue of vigilantism in Ghana’s body politics today has gone beyond elections because vigilante groups who worked to secure electoral victory for their political party, expect the government to reciprocate by giving them their share of state resources.
He said political vigilantism has become a threat to Ghan’s democracy and that the time has come for political parties and other stakeholders to consider doing away with such groups.
According to him, this brings about high and often unrealistic expectations of the government of the day, adding that “It is no wonder that in the past, after transfer of power, vigilante groups have taken over state properties such as toll booths and public toilets. This stems from a false sense of entitlement and unfulfilled promises.”
Mr. David Asante was addressing a public forum organised by the Let My Vote Count Alliance (LMVCA) on Monday, November 26, 2018 under the theme; “Vigilance vs Vigilantism – The Act of Protecting the Ballot,” where he said Ghana’s elections have evolved significantly with reforms proposed by civil society groups, political parties and the Electoral Commission contributing to the fine-tuning of the electoral process to conform to international standards and that the “future of our democracy is hinged on elections, its credibility, integrity and sanctity of elections cannot be over-emphasized, hence in some cases political parties and candidates rely heavily on the vigilance of their agents and supporters to ensure credible elections.”
Meanwhile he said, in the course of playing their vigilance roles, these groups at times go overboard to apply certain force without legal authority.
Defining Vigilantism, David Asante said it is “a form of social group controlled violence or activism which serves the political interest of both an incumbent government and the opposition since both incumbent government and the opposition have their vigilante groups,” adding that Vigilante groups date as far back as the CPP’s youth wing who were then known as “Nkrumah’s Veranda Boys.
He said there is the need for vigilante groups who are established to protect the interest of their political parties to remain vigilance and do away with acts of vandalism which have become a major concern to deal with as far as democracy is concern.
He averred that Ghana is a trailblazer and a shining star of democracy in Africa considering the fact that in the Fourth Republic, elections have evolved significantly.
According to him, reforms proposed by civil society groups, political parties and the Electoral Commission itself have contributed to the fine-tuning of the electoral process to conform to international standards.
He said: “Thus, we have moved from the use of opaque ballot boxes and black and white Voter ID cards to transparent ballot boxes, colour Voter ID cards, and now Biometric Verification before voting. I daresay, it won’t be long before electronic voting is introduced.”
Dr. Kwesi Anin, Director, Faculty of Academic Affairs & Research, Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre has described the growing canker of vigilantism in Ghana’s political discourse as a “currency” and an enterprise of which people are ready to invest in the campaigns of political parties with the hope of reaping the benefits when that political party wins power.
Although he said these groups may exist to promote the parochial interest of politicians, their activities at the same time are among the key challenges that undermine the nation’s drive towards democratic maturity.
He said Ghana’s efforts to climb higher the ladder of democratic progression would come to nought if proactive measures are not taken to deal with the phenomenon of vigilantism.
He said, due to this development, the scourge of political vigilantism continues to breed before and after elections which is having serious consequences on Ghana’s democracy.
He said Ghana’s fourth attempt at constitutional democratic governance which started in 1992 has been plagued with negative acts of political vigilantism.
Political vigilante groups, he averred play a key role in securing electoral victory for their parties but most of them have also become key agents in pushing their parties to opposition.
He mentioned also that political vigilantism which is being fuelled by clients in Ghana’s body politics poses severe threats to Ghana’s efforts at consolidating her democracy.
According to Dr. Kwesi Anin vigilante groups, particularly those belonging to the party that won elections have over the years, taken the laws of the country into their own hands, forcibly ejected officials of previous administration from their apartments and physically assaulted them, as well as engaged in seizures of public property including public toilets and assets in the custody of public officials in an uncoordinated manner.
These acts, he said have fuelled polarization in Ghana’s body politic and undermined the nation’s drive towards democratic maturity.
He explained that in many developing democracies, vigilantism is commonly summarised as “taking the law into one’s own hands” and the use of brute force to protect the interest of a group that one belongs to.
“Vigilantism covers a broad range of violent acts ranging from dissident violence, to the legal exercise of physical coercion by a regime or its representatives,” he stated and pointed out that the activities of political vigilante groups are based on the notion of reciprocity and the provision of personalised goods with these groups believing that public office holders who are their patrons are wealthy and control massive resources.
“Consequently, they expect the political elite to share the state resources with them once they are in government, therefore, they work hard to win and retain power for their political elite,” he said.
These groups, he said would go at every length to ensure that their party wins power so that the engage in illegal acts including confiscation of state property, forcible ejection of officials of state from their apartments, physical Political Vigilantism in Ghana’s Fourth Republic, assault of former government appointees and other human right abuses.
He averred that these social vices have filled Ghana’s body politic with tension, rancor and acrimony within the first few months of new regimes.
Also, the National Organizer of the NPP, Mr. Sammi Awuku who was on the panel stressed the fact that political patrons disregard the long-term national interest and focus on supporting their clients hence anyone who is not a client receives nothing from the government. These acts of clientelism tend to thrive in uncertain political and economic environments at the rural and urban level making it an avenue for the politics of survival for both patrons and clients, and hence will be difficult to stop.
He said, the poor and marginalised members of society are drawn into these networks as the only solution to their daily survival due to limited access to formal assistance.
By PROSPER AGBENYEGA