Iran Press/Africa: The Electoral Commission has qualified 12 candidates to be on the presidential ballot, but in reality, the election is a race between the candidates of the country’s two rival parties, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
The December elections will be held against a backdrop of deepening polarization and a harsh economic condition triggered by the country’s first-ever sovereign debt default. Responsibility for the state of the economy, unemployment, and ecocide are among the key issues dominating the campaigns.
Incumbent President Nana Akufo-Addo of the NPP is term-limited. His party, now led by Vice President Bawumia, is campaigning to win an unprecedented third term in government, while the NDC, led by former president Mahama, is determined to return to power and according to them reset and reform Ghana’s economy.
The tone of the campaigns and the divergence between the two parties' trust in the electoral commission, the judiciary, and other state institutions involved in assuring election integrity suggests that there is widespread apprehension that this year’s elections may lead to chaos.
Given Ghana’s increasingly chilly relations with the military junta in Burkina Faso and the existence of multiple politically exploitable internal conflicts, an election gone bad could destabilize the country and worsen the regional security situation.
However, the electoral commission's chairperson, Jean Mensa, has pledged to hold peaceful and credible polls.
“As a commission, I am pleased to note that we have walked the talk of peace mindful of the fact that attaining peaceful electoral outcome would depend on our actions," Mensa said, adding that the commission had consciously operated and carried out activities in a manner that would ensure peace before, during and after the election.
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