LOCAL LEVEL POLITICAL PARTICIPATION TOWARDS DEMOCRATIC CONSOLIDATION IN GHANA A Case Study of Sissala West Constituency

LOCAL LEVEL POLITICAL PARTICIPATION TOWARDS DEMOCRATIC CONSOLIDATION IN GHANA A Case Study of Sissala West Constituency

By GBENSUGLO ALIDU BUKARI (B.A. DEVELOPMENT STUDIES)

A Thesis submitted to the Department of Planning, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree

of

MASTER OF SCIENCE Development Planning and Management Department of Planning College of Architecture and Planning

JUNE, 2011.

DECLARATION I hereby declare that this submission is my own work towards the Master of Science in Development Planning and Management and that to the best of my knowledge, it contains no material previously published by another person nor material which has been accepted for the award of any other degree of the University, except where duly acknowledgement has been made in the text.

………………….

GBENSULGLO ALIDU BUKARI (Student: PG 3285109)

Signature

……………… Date

Certified by: DR. RUDITH S. KING

…………………..

(Supervisor)

Signature

……………… Date

Certified by: …………………..

DR. IMORO BRAIMAIH (Head of Department)

Signature

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……………… Date

ABSTRACT The thesis contributes to the debate over the impact of political participation and the drive to democratic consolidation on electoral politics in Ghana using Sissala West Constituency in the Upper West Region of Ghana as the case study. The thesis focused on the dichotomy between efforts at democratic consolidation and political participation at the national and local levels and examined the intricate relationship between the two levels of governmental authority within the framework of Ghana’s Fourth Republican Constitution. It is noted that, the effective consolidation of democracy must be judged by the extent to which democratic structures, institutions, norms and values have been rooted at the local levels. The concern therefore is that, Ghana is definitely making significant progress in consolidating democracy, this is because, the foregoing is ample evidence that, as far as national political processes are concerned, the overall commitment of Ghana’s drive towards democratic consolidation is indisputable, but the process will be difficult unless it is rooted at the local levels where the bulk of the citizens live and its impact on democratic consolidation. It therefore focused on Ghana’s effort at democratic consolidation and the extent to which this healthy development is replicated in political participation at the grassroots level where the bulk of the citizens of the polity live and thus sought to fill such lacunae. The overall goal is to determine the level of political participation at the local level (i.e. grassroots level) of the nation, where the bulk of the citizens lived and its impact on Ghana’s drive towards democratic consolidation. The information leading to the achievement of this objective was gathered through many data collection methods such as interview guided questionnaire, key informant and personal interviews, secondary data source as well as sampling techniques like purposive and simple random sampling. The results underscored the view that Ghana is on course to democratic consolidation as measured by the level o f political participation at the local level and democratic consolidation. The study established a concrete link that, political participation reinforces democratic consolidation in Ghana. It has therefore recommended that the growth of democratic culture must be linked to guarantee justice and equity for people and also for Ghana’s democracy to smoothly sail into maturity, there is therefore the need to redouble efforts at engineering democracy at the grassroots levels as the foundation for sustainable democracy in the country. iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT To God be the glory, I wish to thank the Almighty Father whose support, guidance and power illuminated the path from the beginning of my education to this far. My special gratitude goes to Dr. Rudith King the supervisor of this work, her invaluable suggestions and critical insights which shape this work. My profound thanks also go to the entire staff of the Department of Planning, the SPRING Programme and lecturers from other departments whose hands I have passed through. Many individuals and institutions also deserve special mention of their enormous contribution in provision of data and information for the successful completion of this work. I therefore wish to express my sincere thanks Mr. Haruna Alhasan, the Returning Officer of Sissala West Electoral Commission and Mr. Sulemana S. Alhasan, Sene District Electoral Commission Officer for their material Support and also to Dr. John Gasu, a Lecturer at University for Development Studies for his advice. I am highly indebted to the Electoral Commission of Ghana for allowing me to use its data for my work. Finally, to all those who have contributed in diverse ways to the success of this thesis. But all errors of facts, omission and misinterpretations are solely mine.

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DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to the God Almighty for his guidance and also to my late father whose vision and unflinching support for my education made me what I am today. May his soul rest in perfect peace.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS Content

Pages

Title Page

i

Declaration

ii

Abstract

iii

Acknowledgment

iv

Dedication

v

Table of contents

vi

List of tables

xiii

List of figures

xv

List of acronyms

xvi

Chapter One

1

1.0 General Introduction

1

1.1 Background of the study

1

1.2 Problem statement

6

1.3 Objectives

8

1.3.1 Overall Objective

8 vi

1.3.1 Specific Objective

8

1.4 Research Questions

9

1.5 Scope of the Study

9

1.6 Justification of the Study

10

1.7 Methodology

11

1.7.1 Research Design

11

1.7.2 Population of Study

12

1.7.3 Sample and Sampling Procedure

12

1.7.4 Sampling Techniques

14

1.7.5 Instruments for Data Collection

15

1.7.6 Data Processing and Analytical Procedure

16

1.8

Limitations of the Study

17

1.9 Organization of the Study

18

Chapter Two

19

2.0 Literature Review

19

2.1 Introduction

19

2.2 Conceptual Definitions

19 vii

2.3 Democracy as a form of Government

23

2.4 Conceptual Views of Democracy

24

2.5 Theoretical Framework of Democracy

30

2.5.1 The Procedural View of Democracy

33

2.5.2 The Substantive View of Democracy

36

2.6 Theoretical Framework for Analyzing Democratic Government

36

2.6.1 The Majoritarian Model

39

2.6.2 The Pluralist Model

41

2.7 Democratic Transition

43

2.7.1 Conceptual Views

43

2.7.2 Democratic Transition in Comparative Perspective

46

2.8 Democracy and Political Participation

49

2.8.1 Conceptual Views

49

2.8.2 Political Participation Model

52

2.9 Democratic Consolidation

54

2.9.1 Conceptual Views

54

viii

2.9.2 Conceptual Framework of Democratic Consolidation

57

2.10 Democracy in Ghana

60

2.10.1 An Overview of Constitutional Democracy in Ghana

60

2.10.2 Democratization and Elections in Ghana

61

2.10.3 Democratization and Local Level Elections in Ghana

64

Chapter Three

68

3.0 Brief Profile of Sissala West District

68

3.1 Introduction

68

3.2 Location

69

3.3 Population

69

3.4 Area Councils

70

3.5 Electoral Areas

71

3.6 Ethnic and Culture

73

3.7 Occupation and Economic Activities

73

3.8 Education

74

3.9 Political Tradition and Party Affiliation

74

3.10 Trends in Political Participation

77 ix

Chapter Four

79

4.0 Analysis of Local Level Political Participation and how it affects Democratic Consolidation in Ghana

79

4.1 Introduction

79

4.2 Democratic Profile of Respondents

80

4.2.1 Age Distribution

80

4.2.2 Educational Attainment

81

4.2.3 Occupational Background

81

4.3 National Political Processes

83

4.3.1 Measuring Political Participation

83

4.3.1.1 Voting

83

4.3.1.2 Campaign Work

84

4.3.1.3 Campaign Contribution

87

4.3.1.4 Party Executive Position

88

4.3.1.5 Membership of Civil Society Organization

90

4.3.2 Assessing Democratic Consolidation

91

4.3.2.1 Performance of Democratic Institutions

93

x

4.3.2.2 Knowledge in Electoral Issues

96

4.3.2.3 Economy and Democratic Consolidation

97

4.4 Assessment of Local Political Processes

102

4.4.1 Participation in Local Government Elections

103

4.4.2 Participation in Political Discourse

104

4.4.3 Community Action

105

4.5 Structural Impediments to Political Participation at the Local Level

107

4.5.1 Voter Apathy

107

4.5.2 Poor Local Election Management

108

4.5.3 The Challenge of Election Postponement

109

4.6 Local Level Political Participation towards Democratic Consolidation

109

4.7 Implication of Findings for Democratic Consolidation in Ghana

112

Chapter Five

115

5.0 Summary, Conclusion and Recommendations

115

5.1 Introduction

115

5.2 Summary

117

5.2.1 National Political Processes

117

5.2.2 Local Political Participation

119 xi

5.3 Conclusion

120

5.4 Recommendation

121

5.4.1 Democratic Consolidation

121

5.4.2 Local Level Political Participation

123

References

125

Appendix (A) Questionnaire

134

Appendix (B) Determination of Sample Size

140

xii

LISTS OF TABLES Tables

Page

Table 1: Area Councils

70

Table 2: Electoral Areas

71

Table 3: Political Traditional and Party Affiliation

76

Table 4: Age Distribution

80

Table 5: Occupational Background of Respondents

82

Table 6: Membership of Political Party

85

Table 7: Opinion on Party Politics

85

Table 8: Attendance at Political Rallies

86

Table 9: Contribution to Party Activities

87

Table 10: Interest in Party Position

88

Table 11: Reasons for not taking Party Position

89

Table 12: Reasons for taking Party Position

90

Table 13: Membership of CSO’s

91

Table 14a: State of Democracy in Ghana today

95

Table 14b: Level of Satisfaction with Ghana’s Democracy

95

xiii

Table 15: Respondents Perception of National Economy

98

Table 16: Liberal Democracy and Living Conditions

99

Table 17a: Relationship between Democracy and Socio-Economic Conditions

100

Table 17b: Socio-Conditions and acceptance of Democracy

101

Table 18: Voting in Local Elections

103

Table 19a: Opinion about Local Political Processes

104

Table 19b: Active involvement in Local Politics

105

Table 20: Community Action

106

xiv

LISTS OF FIGURES Figure 1: Political Participation Model

53

Figure 2: Conceptual Framework of Democratic Consolidation

59

xv

LISTS OF ACRONYMS NDC: National Democratic Congress NPP: New Patriotic Party NCD: National Commission for democracy PNDC: Provisional National Defence Council EC:

Electoral Commission

SWD: Sissala West District CPP: Convention People’s Party PNC: People National Convention CSO: Civil Society Organization USA: United States of America CDD: Centre for Democratic Development

xvi

CHAPTER ONE GENERAL INTRODUCTION 1.1

Background

The thesis is a contribution to the ongoing debate on the impact of political participation at the local level to Ghana’s drive towards democratic consolidation using Sissala West Constituency in the Upper West Region of Ghana, as a case study. A functional democracy needs an informed citizenry and empowered media, popular participation in policy making, a responsive state and governing processes that are open, transparent and inclusive to all legitimate interest. Improving relationships between citizens and their government means working simultaneously on state responsiveness and the accountability of elected officials and council members. The state alone cannot solve society’s many problems or provide the remedies for democracy’s deficits; this requires citizen action. A meaningful democracy must strengthen civic voices, demonstrate responsive governance systems and promote interest of all its citizens. The new governance paradigm is therefore about process, politics and partnerships. While in the past many countries including Ghana, were run by government officials that took decisions primarily based on technical knowledge and vested interests. Today, new governance structures and demands are compelling governments to expend public consultation, implement participatory governance practices at the local level through encouragement to expand popular participation and develop partnership with civil society organizations. This requires a deprofessionalization policies and the public administration. 1

In the 1990’s, the term participatory governance was adopted in accordance with debate on governance as a new form or even substitute of the traditional government (Bentham,1994). No matter which wordings and terms applied, participatory governance concepts remain the same. They focus on bottom-up participation with involvement of several stakeholders. Proponents claim that additional political participation would improve the quality of politics and “active involvement of citizens within the polity (Boafo-Athur, 2006). Nonetheless, the thesis adopts the term ‘political participation’ and intends to contribute to its further clarification and determine its impact on democratic consolidation in Ghana. Since the adoption of participatory governance in the 1990’s, many countries including Ghana have initiated efforts to create space and mechanisms for citizen participation in democratic processes. But the search for participatory democracy in Ghana deemed to have stated in the early 1980’s when the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC), in the proclamation soon after the31st December Revolution in 1981, established the National Commission for Democracy (NCD) in December 1984 to take over the functions of Electoral Commission and to discharge several functions the government assigned to it (Republic of Ghana, 1991). The PNDC observed that the independent constitution guaranteed Parliament, Judiciary apart from Executive Authority. These provisions were repeated in 1969 and 1979 constitutions with the provisions of new constitutions after the military takes over of 1966 and 1972. But these constitutions failed to bestow full participatory form of government because the type of representational system adopted on each occasion made the governments remote and distant from the primary communities that were supposed to have elected them.

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The PNDC therefore initiated local government reforms which culminated in Local Government Elections based on a non-partisan political slate in 1988/89. This became the sine qua non of a sound ‘National Government’. However, a significant move towards democratic or participatory governance was the task assigned to the National commission for Democracy (NCD) to collate public views on the political future of the nation. The NCD among other things was tasked to formulate for consideration of the PNDC Regime, a programme for the effective realization of Multi-Party Democracy in Ghana (Republic of Ghana, 1991: ix). The NCD held regional political fora in all the ten regions of Ghana with the active participation of cross-sector of Ghanaians from July to November 1990 and at the end put together a report entitled “Evolving a true Democracy.” (Afari-Gyan, 1995:10). A committee was set –up to produce a Draft Constitutional Proposal which will form the basis for deliberations by a consultative body. The committee was to rely on “the NCD Report,” and the past Constitutions of Ghana (i.e. 1957, 1960, 1969 and 1979 constitutions) and any other constitutions such matters as the PNDC might refer to it and any other matter which the committee itself considered to be reasonably related to its work (Afari-Gyan 1995:14). The committee presented their suggestion in a document entitled “Proposal for a Draft Constitution of Ghana.” After the submission of its report, a consultative Assembly with a stipulated membership of 260 was inaugurated on 26th August, 1991 to draw a draft constitution for the country. At the end of their deliberations the Consultative assembly produced a “Draft constitution of Ghana” and submitted to the government on 31st March, 1992. The PNDC Regime noted that the draft constitution was a “True Reflections” of the Consultative Assembly and also expert satisfaction that “Draft Constitution” embodied the democratic principles and ideals essential for the stability and continued development of Ghana under the Fourth Republic (Afari-Gyan 1995:119). 3

A

referendum on the Draft Constitution was scheduled on 28th April 1992. Before the referendum, the PNDC set-up an interim Electoral Commission which was given the mandate to manage elections pursuant to constitutional rule. In the referendum, Ghanaians were asked to vote ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ to either approve the Draft Constitution that was to come into force from 7th January, 1993 or reject it. Though there were initial reactions to the draft constitution, Ghanaians approved it with a measure of 92.6% of votes cast (Kwame Boafo-Arthur, 2006). This formed the basis and sine qua non of “Multi-party Democracy” in Ghana under the Fourth Republican Constitution. Thus based on the referendum results, ban on political activities was lifted on 15th May 1992. Several political parties emerged and contested the presidential and parliamentary elections held on 3rd November, and 28th December 1992 respectively. This ultimately led to the institution of multi-party democracy and the democratic elections that saw the inauguration of first elected government on 7th January 1993, under the Fourth Republic and marked the beginning of multi-party democracy in the country for the fourth time. Since 1992, Ghanaian polity went through successive democratic exercises of choosing an executive president and parliamentarians on 7th December of (1996, 2000, 2004 and 2008). The successful conduct of these democratic elections marked important milestone in Ghana’s democratic transition and its drive towards democratic consolidation. In particular, the 2000 and 2008 general elections led to an unprecedented change of governments when the ruling NDC and NPP were respectively voted out and brought about a smooth changed of governments. This means that Ghana’s democratic development passed the ‘two-turn’ over test ‘proposed by Samuel P. Huntington in (1991).

According to Huntington, ‘democracy is said to be

consolidated when polity passed the ‘two-turn over test.’ That is, a government loses an election, the opposition wins it and then next time loses it, so that a new government from the opposition 4

is formed. This test of democratic consolidation has the virtue of being empirically easy to verify but it has the vice of not being nuanced enough. Arguably, the 2000 and 2008 General Elections have confirmed the speed with which the country has institutionalized competitive elections as a pillar of multi-party democracy and Democratic Governance. But to the large extent, the vibrancy and intensity which characterized the organization of National Elections and the advances made in this regard rather stand in stark contrast with the sloppiness and lukewarm approach towards the organization of elections at the local level. But the index of sustainability of democratic consolidation is the extent to which political power is decentralized to the local levels of national polity (Bratton and Van de Walle, 1997:217). According to Amponsah (20003), the “prevalence of elitist and new-patrimonial tendencies among the political elite tends to undermine and denigrate the political processes at the grassroots level, which seriously undermines the project of democratic consolidation.” As Oluwu (1999:285) has noted in Africa, “discussions of governance have tended to concentrate on the national level…there is practically no literature on how national democratic processes relate to local governance.” In Ghana, a great deal of contradictions exist between the efforts at democratic consolidation at national or “high levels” of politics and efforts made at the local level or “lower levels” (BoafoArthur, 2003:255). The challenge of entrenching the country’s fledgling democracy therefore lies on how to ensure a synergy between the efforts at democratic consolidation through participatory governance and the institutionalization of democratic structures of both the National and local levels. The thesis therefore seeks to fill such lacunae in the literature on

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Ghanaian politics, as it would focus on the Ghana’s effort at democratic consolidation and the impact of political participation at the local level. 1.2

PROBLEM STATEMENT

In the political lexicon, Ghana has become a beacon of African democracy, since the inception of the constitutional democracy in 1992, which ultimately led to the institution of multi-party democracy and conduct of democratic elections in December 1992, and the inauguration of the first constitutional elected government in January 1993. In many of the analysis of Ghana’s democratic practices in literature, focused more on the determinants of political behaviour in the national elections than at the local government elections. But, the major index of democratic consolidation sustainability depends on the extent to which political power is decentralized to the local levels of the national polity. This is because the challenge of entrenching the country’s fledgling democracy lies in how to ensure a synergy between the efforts at deepening democracy at both national and local levels. Indeed, many of the problems of Ghana democratic process including abuse of office, political corruption and the monetization of elections cannot be fully explained without an in-depth understanding of the prevailing dichotomy between political processes and institutions at the national and local levels. The thesis therefore focused on the dichotomy between efforts at democratic consolidation and political participation at the national and local levels and examined the intricate relationship between the two levels of governmental authority within the framework of Ghana’s Fourth Republican Constitution. It is noted that effective consolidation of democracy must be judged by the extent to which democratic structures, institutions, norms and values have been rooted at the local levels. This is because not only does the majority of the people live in the local communities, but it also present the 6

opportunity for the people to elect their president and parliamentarians as well as candidates to metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies as assemblymen and women. Despite the importance of these elections a worrying trend has been the growing apathy among the electorate at the local level judging from the declining participation rate in the local government elections. For instance, the voter turn-out in 2002 and 2006 local government elections was 33.3% and 44% respectively. By comparison voter turn-out for 2004 and 2008 general elections were 85.12% and 69.79% respectively. The fact that local government elections do not achieve similar turn-out rates gives much cause for concern because these elections are perhaps the most potent tool available to marginalized members of society to enable their participation in the political system. This low level political participation is partly due to low publicity and the challenge of election postponement CDD, Ghana (2003).The situation in the Sissala West Constituency is akin to all the 230 constituencies or 170 metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies in Ghana. The main concern of this thesis is therefore that Ghana is definitely making significant progress in consolidating democracy, this is because as far as national political processes are concerned, the overall commitment of Ghana’s drive towards democratic consolidation is indisputable, but the process will be difficult unless it is rooted at the local levels where the bulk of the citizens live and its impact on democratic consolidation. To what extent does this healthy political development is replicated in local political participation in the particular case of Sissala West Constituency?

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1.3

OBJECTIVES

1.3.1 Overall Objective The main aim of this thesis is to determine the level of political participation at the local level (i.e. grassroots level) of the nation, where the bulk of the citizens live and its impact on Ghana’s drive towards democratic consolidation. 1.3.2 Specific objectives Specifically, the thesis seeks to achieve the following; 1.

To determine the relationship between democratic consolidation and the level of political

participation at the local level. 2.

To determine the extent to which Ghana’s effort at democratic consolidation is translated

into a more genuine political participation of wider population in the process of political decision at the local level. 3.

To determine the extent to which political participation and processes at the local level

reinforce and affect democratic consolidation at the national level. 4.

To identify the problems of democratization at the local level that affect the building and

strengthening of Ghana’s democratic consolidation at the national level. 5.

To suggest possible strategies for making political participation at the local level viable

for the realization of democratic consolidation in Ghana.

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1.4

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1.

What is the relationship between democratic consolidation and the political participation

at the local level? 2.

To what extent does Ghana’s effort at democratic consolidation is translated into genuine

political participation of the wider population in the process of political decision at the local level? 3.

To what extent does political participation and processes at the local level reinforce and

affect democratic consolidation? 4.

What are the problems/factors militating against political participation at the local level

and how does these affect democratic consolidation? 5.

What are the institutional arrangements or strategies for broadening and strengthening of

participatory governance at local level for the realization of democratic consolidation? 1.5

THE SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The thesis focused on the relationship between Ghana’s efforts at democratic consolidation and political participation at the national and local levels. It examined the intricate relationship between the two levels of governmental authority within the framework of Ghana’s Fourth Republican Constitution. It is noted that, the effective consolidation of democracy in Ghana must be judged by the extent to which democratic structures, institutions, norms and values have been rooted at the local levels.

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1.6

JUSTIFICATION OF THE STUDY

Many of the analysis of Ghana’s democratic practices, has been focused more on the determinants of political behavior in the national elections than on similar tendencies at the local level. But, the major index of democratic consolidation sustainability depends on the extent to which political power is decentralized to the local levels of the national polity. As has been argued by Butler et.al (1997) in their book ‘Democracy at Polls,’ (cited in BoafoArthur,(ed.2006), the electoral processes encapsulates the entire politics of democratic society (i.e. national and local democratic processes). The earlier studies of Ghanaian electoral politics were limited by their failure to cover the entire scope of electoral politics. By focusing on national democratic processes, the earlier studies could not enrich Ghana polity the knowledge of Ghana’s democratic electoral process and could add little indeed to the understanding of interplay between the electoral processes at the local level and democratic politics at the national level. All such useful studies therefore leave unanswered question of the relationship between the level of political participation at the local level and democratic consolidation in Ghana. This is the gap (lacunae) in Ghanaian politics generally need to be filled. The thesis will fill such lacunae in the literature on Ghanaian electoral politics. The inauguration of Fourth Republican Constitutional democracy which has some of the finest institutional, legal and procedural provisions intended to promote and safeguard democratic practice at both national and local levels in the country, add extra urgency to the need for understanding of how Ghanaian society and democratic institutions and practices could shape the prospects for a democratic society, if it is true that the electoral process encapsulates the entire 10

politics of a democratic society, then it is important to understand the relationship between electoral processes at the national and local levels of the national polity. Lastly, it would provide knowledge and opportunity for students of politics for further studies or research either in the same topic or similar one. 1.7

METHODOLOGY

The methodology refers to procedural steps and methods used in the study. These include; research design, population of study, sample and sampling techniques, and instruments for data collection, methods of data collection, and data process and analysis. 1.7.1 Research Design Frankfort-Nachmais and Nachmais (1996) maintain that a case study is a useful approach for understanding the complexity and dynamism of social issues that require lasting responses. They further argued that, a case sturdy research design is appropriate for study that is limited by time and thus cannot be carried out in a larger scale. Kumekpor (2002) argues that a case study wellcarried out provides useful insights into a social phenomenon that requires an action. Case study approach which is a descriptive design or method was adopted using Sissala West Constituency as the study area. This approach would be adopted because the phenomenon understudy or investigation is typical case of all the 230 constituencies in Ghana. Two reasons informed the choice of Sissala West constituency. First, since the return to constitutional rule in 1993, two parties have alternated in the exercise of political power and therefore not an electoral stronghold of any political party. Secondly, the constituency is rural and falls within the category of taxonomy of districts published by Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development. 11

1.7.2 Population Population here refers to population of interest and not the population of the geographical area. It is other words known as the sampling frame Verma and Beard (1981) cited in Abiola Olufemi Olayiwola (2007) in his book ‘Procedures in Educational Research’ described population of study as large group from which a sample is selected for study. Also, Escan and Okafor (1995) cited in Abiola Olufemi Olayiwola (2007) in his book ‘Procedures in Educational Research’) said population of study is the aggregate of all units in a target universe. Thus, population is the group of interest to the researcher (i.e. it is the group or individuals to which the results or outcome of study become generalisable).The population of study was registered voter population of 18 years and above. Sissala West Constituency has a registered voter population of 25,334, made up of 10,082 female and 15,252 males (EC voter register, 2010). 1.7.3 SAMPLE AND SMPLING PROCEDURE Sample size determination: A very small sample size makes generalization very difficult as a result, wrong decisions could be made. However, a large sample size can also lead to logistic problem, and may be expensive. Many Arthurs have suggested that sample size could be considered appropriate, convenient and suitable for generalization. Gay (1980) cited in Abiola Olufemi Olayiwola (2007) in his book ‘Procedures in Educational Research’, suggested that for descriptive research, a minimum sample of 10% of the population would be considered enough. Fraenkel and Wallen (1990) also cited in Abiola Olufemi Olayiwola (2007) in his book ‘Procedures in Educational Research’, however suggested a minimum of 100 for descriptive studies.

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The sample size was determined from Sample frame of 25,334 registered voters, using statistical or mathematical formular at 90% confidence interval with 10% error margin (i.e.

),

where n= sample size N=sample frame (25,334 α=confidence interval (0.1), 1=constant. Sample size: Escan and Okafor (1995) cited in Abiola Olufemi Olayiwola (2007) in his book ‘Procedures in Educational Research,’ described sample size as a sun-set of population selected to meet specific objectives. They further added that the sample must as much as possible have essential characteristics of the target group. According to Gay (1980) cited in Abiola Olufemi Olayiwola (2007) in his book ‘Procedures in Educational Research’ notes that the purpose of selecting a sample is to gain information concerning the population of interest as a result, the sample must be representative and sufficiently large to avoid sampling error and bias. It helps to draw inferences about the population and is not feasible or necessary to use the entire population due to logistics, time and other economic factors. Achara (2001) cited in Abiola Olufemi Olayiwola (2007) in his book ‘Procedures in Educational Research’ notes that, to overcome the problem of cost and logistics due to time lag, the researcher rarely study the entire population, rather a sample size is drawn from population of study. The study therefore covered a sample size of 100 respondents among all of whom were eligible registered voters based on the electoral voter age of 18 years and above, from ten (10) electoral areas out of 21 made up of urban and rural in the constituency. Unit of Enquiry/Analysis (i.e. sampling unit): This is a further breakdown of the variables. It is the most elementary part of the phenomenon to be studied. It is the basic unit of investigation. It is the unit about which information is required (Afrane, 2010 Lecture Notes Unpublished).

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The sampling unit of the study was mainly eligible registered voters made-up of males and females from 10 electoral areas within the Sissala West Constituency. 1.7.4 SAMPLING TECHNIQUES The process of sampling makes it possible to draw inferences or generalizations as the basis of careful observations of variables within a relatively sample proportion of the population of study (Best and Kahn 1989); cited in Abiola Olufemi Olayiwola (2007) in his book ‘Procedures in Educational Research’. Sampling is the process of selecting a number of individuals from the population of study in such a way that, individuals represent the larger group from which they were selected, Gay (1980) cited in Abiola Olufemi Olayiwola (2007) in his book ‘Procedures in Educational Research’. The selected individuals from the sample while the larger population is the population. Sample selection was therefore done in such a way to give equal chance to every member of the population. Both the probability and non-probability sampling techniques of simple random and purposive sampling were respectively employed to collect data for the study. Purposive sampling: This is a non-probability sampling technique which allows the researcher to make personal judgment (Afrane, 2010 Lecture Notes Unpublished). This sampling technique was used to sample electoral areas in the constituency, because people to be interviewed are believed to have in-depth knowledge in the phenomenon under investigation. Simple random sampling: This is a non-probability sampling technique. It was employed to select the respondents. The study used table of random numbers which is more scientific in terms of approach. Two digits (i.e. 01) was assigned to the sample frame (thus, the range was

14

from 01 to 25.334) given everyone the chance of being selected. The interview started number 10 and this was used to obtain the required 100 respondents. That is, 10, 20, 30 and so on. 1.7.5 INSTRUMENTS FOR DATA COLLECTION Both Primary and Secondary data were collected and analyzed for the study. Different instruments were used for data gathering. The study made use of instruments such as questionnaire (including both open and closed ended questions) and interview guides in the data collection. Questionnaire: Best and Kahn (1989) described questionnaires as data gathering instrument through which respondents answer questions in writing. Akinade (2001) cited in Abiola Olufemi Olayiwola (2007) in his book ‘Procedures in Educational Research’ defined questionnaire as a “survey self report research method used to present highly structured items or questions in writing.” Interview: Best and Kahn (1989) said interview is an oral questionnaire where the individual or interviewee gives the needed information orally and face to face. Also, Verma and Beard (1981) cited in Abiola Olufemi Olayiwola (2007) in his book ‘Procedures in Educational Research’ explained that, interview is a method of obtaining data that involves face to face communication between the researcher and the respondents. Akinade said, interview is research instrument where data are gathered mainly through asking questions from participants. Primary Data Source: The primary source of information relied on key informant interview, Personal interview and the administration of the questionnaire in the data gathering. This was done with reference to the political determinants in the Sissala West Constituency. There are 15

times when the method most appropriate to achieve the objectives of the study cannot be used because of difficulties such as lack of resources and required skills.

The study therefore

achieved its objectives based on resources and skills available. Secondary Data Source: This is available information by earlier researchers or scholars. The Secondary data was sourced from journal and periodicals, books, project works and thesis, government reports, newspapers and published or unpublished manuscripts and voter register on the study topic. Relevant information was extracted and refined from data already available on the study phenomenon. This however, was taken into consideration the reliability of such data, the inherent biases, and the availability of such data including the format used in gathering the data. This helped make the study findings and recommendations relevant to the issue under consideration. In a research situation, it is well known that the researcher starts from the known to the unknown.

The secondary data is therefore possible ways of gathering documented

information. 1.7.6 DATA PROCESSING AND ANALYTICAL PROCEDURE Data Processing: The process of data analysis is a continuous one involving many states. At each stage the researcher must ask questions relating to his objectives in order to obtain meaningful answers, the data collection from both Secondary and Primary sources were arranged, organized and examined in detail for consistency of responses. In order to classify answers to questions into meaningful categories so as to bring out essential patterns, editing and tabulation were used in the data processing.

16

Data Analysis: Data analysis is the critical examination of material in order to understand its parts and its relationship and to discover its trends. The analysis of the data provided answers to the research objectives. Data from both primary and secondary comprised of quantitative and qualitative. The quantitative data was transformed into usable format using descriptive statistics such as tables, frequencies, percentages and pie-charts and the use of cross tabulation. The qualitative data analysis involves making comprehensive and analytical descriptions statements made by respondents in the form of explanations and drawing inferences. The qualitative data analysis gave more insight and support results from quantitative data analyzed 1.8

LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

Limitations are conditions beyond the control of the researcher that may place restriction on the conditions of the study and their generalization of other situations. The study encountered setbacks and challenges which may militate against the realization of the objectives of the study including the following; financial constraints/cost, insufficient time, combined academic work, logistics as well as language barrier. To overcome these limitations, funds were mobilized, 5 motor bikes were also hired to 5 recruited personnel for the administration of questionnaire within the period. 1.9

ORGANISATION OF THE STUDY

The thesis is organized into five chapters. The study proceeded with chapter one covering background, problem statement, objectives, and research questions, scope of the study, justification, limitations and methodology. Chapter two reviewed literatures by clarifying some conceptual and theoretical issues related to democracy, democratic consolidation, and political 17

participation. The chapter three presented brief profile of the study area including; geographical location, socio-economic, political tradition and importantly trend of political participation of the study area. Chapter four examined the level of political participation at the local level and discussed the evidence on participation at local level of government focusing on the links between political participation and democratic consolidation based on the data collected. This discussion identified some structural impediments affecting local level participation and these must be bridged by appropriate political, social, economic actions and institutional building for effective political participation to be possible. The study ended with chapter five, offering some concluding observations and drawing particular attention to the need for fostering synergies between the pre-conditions for effective political participation and the practice of political participation for Ghana’s democratic consolidation.

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CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Introduction This chapter reviewed relevant literature and theoretical framework underpinning democracy. It includes reviews conceptual definitions of democracy and democracy as a form of government, theoretical framework of democracy (Democratic Theory) and the institutional models of democracy, democratic transition, democracy and political participation and its model as well as democratic consolidation and its conceptual framework. The chapter concludes with the reviewed of democratic practice in Ghana. The review of conceptual framework is expected to give deeper understanding of the phenomenon under investigation. 2.2 Conceptual Definitions Democracy: Democracy derives its meaning form Greeks term “Demokratia”. ‘Demos’ is a Greek word meaning people and ‘kratia’ as strength or power. Democracy therefore refers to government or rule by the people.(cited in, Giovanni Sartori,1962) in his Democratic Theory. According to Athens, democracy is a system in which rulers are accountable to the people for what they do. Such a view saw its reaffirmation in modern times when Abraham Lincoln in his famous Gettysburg address in 1883 called it ‘government of the people by the people’. The Popular definition of democracy is therefore, the one given by Abraham Lincoln on 19th November 1863 as “Government of the people, by the people, for the people” (cited in Giovanni Sartori,1962) in his Democratic Theory.

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The thesis conceptualized democracy as political sovereignty that resides in the people as total authority in a state unrestrained by law. Thus, people have the power to decide freely how they want to be governed and by whom. The wishes of all are taken into consideration; while majority will have their way, the wishes and needs of minorities and disadvantaged groups must also be respected. Thus, democracy is a system of government in which, in theory, the people rule either directly or indirectly. Democratic Consolidation:

There are several definitions of democratic consolidation.

According to Samuel P. Huntington in (1991), ‘democracy is said to be consolidated when polity passes the ‘two-turn over test’. “That is, a government loses an election, the opposition wins it and then next time loses it, so that a new government from the opposition is formed. This means that Ghana’s democratic development is said to have passed the ‘two-turn over test’ proposed by Huntington. However, the most widely and workable definition is that of Linz and Stepan (1997:15). To them ‘consolidated democracy refers to a political regime in which democracy as a complex system of institutions, rules and patterned incentives or disincentives and has become in a phrase “the only game in town” behaviourally, attitudinally and constitutionally. This expression of democracy as the ‘only game in town’ means the convergence of political revolution among the significant groups and liberal democracy. The thesis however, adopts this definition and further conceptualized democratic consolidation as the extent to which political power or democratic governance is entrenched at the local levels of the national polity in the political system. Political Participation: Democracy vested power in those who are governed. Rulers who are the representatives of the governed are bound to give their stewardship. Therefore, the Athenian 20

and Lincoln’s conceptions of direct and representative forms of democracy respectively, have political participation as power of government resides in the people. Political participation, according to Jan Teorell et.al. 1999, cited in (Boafo-Arthur, e.d 2006) enables citizens to voice their grievances through numerous channels and be heard by those in authority. These channels include voting, writing letters to representatives, campaigning for a political party, signing a petition and joining a protest march. A more subtle approach may involve offering financial support to charity and boycotting certain products on the market. They defined political participation as “any behavior intended to directly or indirectly influence public decision-making process thereby securing a particular political outcome”. Political participation refers to the various ways in which citizens take part in politics. The general level of participation in a society is the extent to which the people as a whole are committed to political activity. An unbroken tradition of democratic theorist, stretching from Rousseau to John Stuart Mill (cited in Boafo-Arthur, 2006:263), have supported active citizens participation in politics, not principally because greater participation necessarily produce better decision defined in terms of the utilitarian assessment of policy outcomes, but because of developmental value of participation in producing better informed citizenry enhancing both the meaning of their lives and value of relationship with each other.

In this sense, political

participation enhances democratic governance because a democratic imperative is that those who are affected by a decision must be able to influences such decisions. Effective political participation also seeks to check the self serving inclination of politicians. According to Ellen M.Katz- a freelance writer as quoted by Beatrice Torshie in Daily Graphic, 13th January 2011 p.2) “the heart of democracy is the active participation by the people in 21

government decision…and the soul of such a system is the ability of ordinary citizens to hold government officials accountable for their actions.” Political participation can therefore be defined as an activity that has the intent or effect of influencing government action either directly by affecting the formulation or implementation of public policies Verba et,al, 1995; (cited in Boafo-Arthur, ed 2006), In other words, political participation is about voice and equality, and is mainly a voluntary activity. It has been noted that political participation affords citizens in a democracy on opportunity to communicate information to government officials about their concerns and preferences and to put pressure on them to respond. Studies of political participation have traditionally been restricted to voting. However, even though voting is an important mode of citizen involvement in politics it is one of the many overt political acts. Other political acts which constitute political participation are working in and contributing to electoral campaigns and organizations contacting government officials attending protests marches or demonstrations, working information with others to solve the community problems, serving without pay on local elected and appointed committees, being active politically through the intermediation of voluntary associations and contributing money to political causes ,Verba et al 1995 ; cited in Boafo-Arthur, (2006). In the context of these definitions, the thesis conceptualizes political participation as series of activities that significantly influence public policy or government actions, including participation in political discourse, election processes and community action. Democratic Government:

Government refers to political organization comprising the

individuals and institutions authorized to formulate public policies and conduct affairs of state. Governments are empowered to establish and regulate the interrelationships of the people within 22

their territorial confines, the relations of the people with the community as a whole, and the dealings of the community with other political entities. Government applies in this sense both to the governments of national states. Democratic Government therefore refers to the form of government in a democracy that can vary depending on the historical, cultural and economic development of a nation. It may be a constitutional monarchy or republic; presidential or parliamentary system of government, it may also be federal or national (J.C Johari 2002:407). But, whatever the form, all democracies agree on three separate and distinct functions or government; legislative, judiciary and executive. The study of democratic government must then concern itself with the relationship of these functions and their interaction each with the others. 2.3 Democracy as a form of Government As a minimum, democracy as a form of government refers to a set of institutions that fulfils at least two essential requirements. It must first be able to elicit as accurately as possible the opinion of as many people as possible on who shall be their representatives and on how the country ought to be governed. This means as a minimum, universal suffrage, political parties and the organization of free voting in uncorrupt elections at relatively frequent intervals. Second, it must provide ways of ensuring that those chosen by the public do in fact what the electorate wants them to do or that they can be replaced if they do not, even between elections (Dorothy Pickles 1971:13). The fulfillment of this requirement entails methods of supervising the work of governments, of keeping them in constant contact with public opinion. In other words, the process of government in a democracy is essentially a dialogue between rulers and the ruled. But, how effective the dialogue will be will depend on national habits and circumstance as well as on the kind of machinery by which the contacts are maintained. 23

According to J.W Garner (cited in J.C Johari 2002:407). “the truth is, there seems to be no single principle or criterion, judicial or otherwise, upon which a satisfactory classification of states can be made…It is believed that by reason of the peculiar nature of states any attempt to differentiate between them and to classify them is scientifically as largely futile and leads to results which have little or no practical or scientific value” The form of government in a democracy can therefore vary depending on the historical, cultural and economic development of a nation. It may be a Constitutional Monarchy or Republic, Presidential or Parliamentary System of government. In his view of democracy as form of government, Winston Churchill in the House of Commons in 1947 (cited in Dorothy Pickles 1971:9); asserted that “It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried time from time to time.” Whatever the form, all democracies agree on these separate and distinct functions or government as Legislative, Judicial and Executive. The study of democratic government must then concern itself with the relationship of these functions and their interactions, each with the others. Democratic government is thus one in which power is in the hands of many people-is best suited to achieving democratic Consolidation.

`

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2.4 Conceptual views of Democracy Democracy as a form of government derives its meaning from Greeks term “Demokratia”. Demos’ is a Greek word meaning people and ‘kratia’ as strength or power. Democracy there refers to government or rule by the people (Giovanni Sartori, 1962). To the ancient Greeks the world owes the final and conceptual formulation of democracy. Democracy developed in a few small Greek city-states, where the voting citizens (free male adults) numbered only several thousands. They met in popular assemblies and approved the measures proposed by the officials, most of whom were elected by lot. This was direct Democracy (Dorothy Pickles, 1971:29). For the phrase ‘the power belongs to the people’ establishes a principle concerning the source and the legitimacy of power. It means that, in a democracy power is legitimate only if it is attributed from below only if it is an emanation of the popular will (i.e. only if it is granted freely). The literally concept of democracy indicates what is expected and required from a democratic form. Namely; a free society (i.e. not exposed to arbitrary and uncontrolled political power, nor dominated by a closed, in accessible oligarchy. Democracy then exist to the degree that there is an “open society” in which the relation between the government and the governed is consistent with the principle that, state is at the service of the citizens and not the service of the state, that the government exists for the people. In short, democracy implies that, society takes precedence over the state, that ‘demos’ precedes ‘cracy’. In his Gettysburg address of 1863, Lincoln characterized democracy in words that seemed to express its very spirit “government of the people, by the people, for the people”. The phrase “government of the people” has the following conjectures;

25



Government of the people meaning self-governing people, a direct democracy



Conversely, that the people are the objective of the government, that they are governed



That the government belongs to the people, whatever this “belonging’ may mean



That government is chosen and guided by the people



That government emanates from the people in the sense that it derives its legitimacy from

the peoples consent and that the government is responsible to the people The “government for the people”, Lincoln meant, in the peoples interest, for their benefit. (Giovanni Sartori 1962:17-27). The Popular definition of Democracy therefore, is the one given by Abraham Lincoln – 19th Nov 1863, as “Government of the people, for the people, for the people” (Giovanni Sartori 1962). In his book, Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy, Schumpeter (1947) draws attention to democracy being defined as government serving “the people”, “the common good” or the “will of the people”. But, how can it be measure or certain that governing system is serving “the people” “the will of the people?” Given this problem, Schumpeter proposes a definition that stresses institutional methods and procedures for arriving at political decisions in which individuals acquire power to make political decisions by means of competitive struggle for the citizen’s votes. The Schumpeterian “democratic method” or “the procedural approach” had the advantage of enabling empirical examination of the extent to which a governing system is democratic and also assess its quality. It also enables the comparative analysis of various political systems and the determination of whether or not a political system is deepening democracy. 26

Liberal democratic theorists often assert that in spite of its imperfections, democratic politics must be accepted because it offers the best system of governing modern nation-states. This is because it ensures among other things citizens participation, rule of law, political equality, freedom of speech and association as well as press. Given these virtues, it is no wonder that all regimes irrespective of their characteristics, nature and ideological inclinations seek to appropriate the democratic label (Lively, 1986). The most popular and perhaps ambiguous and empirically difficult to verify definition of democracy is that it is a “government of the people, by the people and for the people.”

His definition focuses on the source and purpose of

democratic authority and ideals but makes it difficult to empirically observe when a government is of the people, by the people and for the people. From this perspective, Dahl (1971) maintains that democracy involves mainly contestation and participation which is realistic democracy. For Dahl and Huntington (1993), democracy also meant the existence of systems with broad electorates, extensive opportunities to oppose the government and contest in election, competitive political parties, and peaceful displacement of official defeated in honestly conducted elections and the existence of those civil and political freedoms to speak, publish, assemble and organized that are necessary for political debate as well as the conduct of electoral campaigns (Dahl, 1971:60, Huntington, 1993:7). Minimalist definitions descend from Joseph Schumpeter, who defied democracy as a system “for arriving at political decisions in which individuals acquire the power to demand by means of a completion struggle for the people’s vote.” Samuel Huntington (1993) among others explicitly embraces Schumpeter’s emphasis on electoral competition as the essence of democracy. Over time, however Schumpeter’s appealingly concise definition has required periodic elaboration (or what Collier and Levitsky call “précising” to avoid inclusion of cases that do not fit the implicit 27

meaning. In the real world, R.A Dahl (1971), has pointed out democracies are “polyarchies” For democracy is government by consent, and consent in the long run is the product of what an electorate believed a democracy to be, it depends on the sort of democracy the voters deemed to be true.

In defining democracy as elective polyarchy (Dahl 1989), democracy then is a

“procedure that produces a polyarchy in which competition on the electoral market results in the attribution of power to the people. The most influential elaboration has been Robert Dahl’s concept of “polyarchy” which “requires not only extensive political competition and participation but also substantial levels of freedom of (speech, press and the like ) and pluralism that enable people to form and express their political preferences in a meaningful way” The contemporary minimalist conception of democracy is what Larry Diamond in (1999) referred to as ‘electoral democracy’, commonly acknowledge the need for minimal levels of civil freedom in order for competition and participation to meaningful government. Modern political democracy is a system of governance in which rulers are held accountable for their actions in the public realm by citizens, acting indirectly through the competition and cooperation of their elected representatives. Essential to tracking the progress of democracy and understanding both its causes and its consequences is a high degree of conceptual clarity about the term “democracy.” Unfortunately, what prevails instead in the burgeoning empirical and theoretical literature on democracy is conceptual confusion, so serious that David Collier and Steven Levistsky have identified 550 “subtypes of democracy” ; cited in comparative politics(1998/1999 sixteenth edition). But, some of these nominal subtypes merely identified specific institutional features or types of full democracy, but many “diminished” forms of democracy that overlap with one another a variety 28

of ways. Fortunately, most conceptions of democracy today, (in contrast with 1960’s and 1970’s for example) do converge in defining democracy as ‘system of political authority, separate from any social and economic features, but not always explicitly in the rang and extent of political attributes encompassed by democracy, (Journal of Democracy 2000). According to J.C Johari in his Principles of Modern Political Science (2002:429-430), “Democracy now, is the most popular form of government though it is as old as Greeks. The peculiar thing about democracy is that it s a form of government, a form of society, and above all an ethical ideal or a way of life”. In the context of the above conceptual views of democracy, the thesis focused on the procedural definition given by Schumpeter(1947) ;in his book, “Socialism, Capitalism and Democracy” supported by Huntington (1993:7) and others, that have been most widely employed in research on recent democratization at the level of national political regimes. These definitions refer to democratic procedures rather than to substantive policies or other outcomes that might be viewed as democratic. These definitions are also “minimal,” in that they deliberately focus on the smallest possible number of attributes that are still seen as producing a viable standard for democracy; not surprisingly, there is disagreement about which attributes needed for the definition to be viable. For example, most of these scholars differentiate what they view as the more specifically political features of the regime from characteristics of the society and economy, on the grounds that the latter are more appropriately analyzed as potential causes or consequences of democracy, rather than as features of democracy itself, within this framework, the “procedural minimum” definition of democracy presumes fully contested elections with full suffrage and the absence of massive fraud, combined with effective guarantees of civil liberties, 29

including freedom of speech, assembly, and association.

However, there is by no means

consensus on a single definition. Some scholars, for example, have created an unexpanded procedural minimum” definition by adding the criterion that elected governments must have effective power to govern. Democracy is therefore a political system in which the people of a country rule through any form of government they choose to establish. In modern democracies, supreme authority is exercised for the most part by representatives elected by popular suffrage. The representatives may be supplanted by the electorate according to the legal procedures of recall and referendum, and they are, at least in principle, responsible to the electorate.

Thus, democracy is a system of

government in which, in theory, the people rule either directly or indirectly. 2.5 Theoretical Framework of Democracy Democratic theory provides the theoretical underpinning of the concept of Democracy and theoretical framework analyzing Democratic Government. In this regard, Sartori asserted that; “Democracy, we could say is the fruit of an ideocracy; meaning by this that no historical venture of man has depended in so pronounced and hazardous a manner on the force of ideas, and therefore on our capacity for employing them and on our ability to master the symbolic world. It is no wonder, then if democracy suffers more than any other ethico-political, formula from that deadly disease-mental confusion. If we no longer believe in the value of ideas, or if the ideas which feed the democratic idorcracy approach the vanishing point, it is hard to see how a democratic reality can survive. And the prospects, it must be admitted, are not comforting” (Giovanni Sartori in Democratic Theory, 1962:445).

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Liberal democratic theorists often assert that in spite of its imperfections, democratic politics must be accepted because it offers the best system of governing modern nation-states. This is because it ensures among other things citizens participation, rule of law, political equality, freedom of speech and association as well as the press. Given these virtues, it is no wonder that all regimes irrespective of their characteristics, nature and ideological inclinations seek to appropriate the democratic label according to Lively (1986). The most popular and perhaps ambiguous and empirically difficult to verify definition of democracy is that it is a “government of the people, by the people and for the people.” This definition focuses on the source and purpose of democratic authority and ideals but makes it difficult to empirically observe when a government is of the people, by the people and for the people. In his book, “Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy,” Schumpeter (1947) draws attention to this problem when democracy is defined as government serving “the people,” “the common good” or the “will of the people”. For example, how can it be measured or as certained that governing system is serving “the people” or “the will of the people?”

Given this problem, Schumpeter

proposes a definition that stresses institutional methods procedures for arriving at political decisions by means of competitive struggle for the citizen’s votes.

The Schumpeterian

“democratic method” or “the procedural approach” has the advantage of enabling empirical examination of the extent to which a governing system is democratic and also assess its quality. It also enables the comparative analysis of various political systems and the determination of whether or not a political system is deepening democracy. So conceived, a political system is characterized as democratic that permits leaders to be periodically elected through fair and open elections and candidates to freely compete for votes 31

in which all eligible adult population vote. From this perspective, Dahl (1971) maintains that democracy involves mainly contestation and participation which is realistic democracy. For Dahl and Huntington, democracy also means the existence of systems with broad electorates, extensive opportunities to oppose the government and contest in election, competitive political parties, and peaceful displacement of official defeated in honestly conducted elections and the existence of those civil and political freedoms to speak, publish, assemble and organized that are necessary for political debate as well as the conduct of electoral campaigns (Dahl, 1971:60, Huntington, 1993:7). In sum, there are two views within which theoretical framework of democracy can be conceptualized; including “Procedural view and Substantive view.” Procedural democratic theory was propounded by Schumpeter (1947), draws attention to democracy being defined as government serving “the people”, “the common good” or the “will of the people”. For example, how can it be measure or certain that governing system is serving “the people” or “the will of the people”? this ‘Minimalist Conception of democracy’ descend from Joseph Schumpeter, who defined democracy as a system “for arriving at political decisions in which individuals acquire the power to demand by means of a completion struggle for the people’s vote” was explicitly embraced by Dahl (1971) and Samuel Huntington (1993:7) and others, Schumpeter’s emphasis on ‘electoral competition as the essence of democracy.’ The proponents of substantive view, sees democracy in the substance of government policies, in freedom of religion and provision for human needs. This theory of Democracy concerns with what government does. In the contemporary political lexicon, the advocated of this view among others are; lively (1986), Dahl (1971) and Huntington (1993). 32

Substantive democratic theory focuses on the substance of government policies, not on the procedures followed in making those policies. It argues that in a democratic government, certain principles must be incorporated into government policies. The core of substantive principles of democracy is embedded in the bill of rights (i.e. these prevent the national government from tempering with the fundamental rights and civil liberties and emphasized the limited character of national power) and other amendments to the constitution. Generally, there are two major schools of thoughts about what constitute Democracy. These are ‘Procedural and Substantive’ views of Democracy. It is with reference to the procedural elements of democracy that, this study will analyze voters’ behaviours, perceptions and other attributes of democratic politics at the constituency level in order to assess the quality of the process of Ghana’s democratic evolution 2.5.1 The Procedural view of Democracy This democratic theory was propounded by Schumpeter (1947), draws attention to democracy being defined as government serving “the people”, “the common good” or the “will of the people”. For example, how can it be measure or certain that governing system is serving “the people” or “the will of the people”? Given this problem, Schumpeter proposes a theory that stresses institutional methods and procedures for arriving at political decisions in which individuals acquire power to make political decisions by means of competitive struggle for the citizen’s votes. This school of thought believes that, democracy is a form of government emphasizing on the procedures that enable the people to govern (i.e. meeting to discuss issues, voting in election, running for public office). Thus, it focuses on how decisions are made.

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Procedural democratic theory sets forth principles that describe how government should make decisions. The principles address three distinct questions: 

Who should participate in decision making?



How much should each participant’s vote count?



How many votes are needed to reach a decision?

According to procedural democratic theory, all adults should participate in government decision making; everyone within the boundaries of the political community should be allowed to vote. If some people, such as recent immigrants are prohibited from participation, they are excluded only for practical or political reasons. The theory of democracy itself does not exclude any adults from participation. This is refer to as ‘principle of universal participation.’ According to procedural theory, all votes should be counted equally.

This is the ‘principle of Political

equality.’ Note that, universal principle and political equality are the two distinct principles. It is not enough for everyone to participate in a decision; all votes must carry equal weight. President Abraham Lincoln reportedly once took a vote among his cabinet members and found that they all opposed his position on an issue. He summarized the vote and the decision this way; “seven ones, one eye-the eyes have it” Everyone participated, but Lincoln’s vote counted more than all the others combined.(no one ever said that presidents have to run their cabinets democratically). Finally, Procedural theory prescribes that a group should decide to do what the majority of its participants (50 percent plus one person) wants to do. This principle is called ‘majority principle’ (i.e. if participants divide over more than two alternatives and none receives a simple majority, 34

the principle usually defaults to plurality rule, under which the group does what most participants want. Therefore the three principles that is; ‘universal participation’, ‘political equality’ and ‘majority rule’ are widely recognized as necessary conditions for democratic decision making. Jean Jacques Rousseau contended that true democracy is impossible unless all citizens gather to make decisions and supervise the government.

Rousseau also said that, “decisions of the

government should embody the general ‘will’, and ‘will’ cannot be represented“ (cited in Janda et al 2000:34). Within the context of representative democracy, the principles of universal participation, political equality and the majority rule are adhere to, guarantee that elections are democratic. But what happen after the elections?

To account for this principle called

representative government, procedural theory provides a fourth decision-making principle called ‘responsiveness.’ This principle requires that, the elected representatives should respond to public opinion. This does not mean that legislators simple cast their ballots on the basis of whether the people back home want alternative A or alternative B. issues are not usually straight forward, rather responsiveness means following the general contours of public opinion in formatting complex pieces of legislation. By adding responsiveness to deal with the case of indirect democracy, there are four principles of ‘Procedural Theory of Democracy ‘as follows; 

Universal Participation



Political Equality



Majority Rule



Government Responsiveness to Public Opinion …(Janda et al. 2000:34). 35

The procedural viewpoint has a problem although it presents a specific criteria for democratic government, those criteria can produce undesirable social policies such as those that pry on minorities. This clashes with minority rights i.e. the idea that all citizens are entitled to certain things that cannot be denied by majority. Opinions proliferate on what those “certain things” are, but all would agree, for example on freedom of religion. One way to protect minority rights is to limit the principle of majority rule by requiring two-thirds majority or some other extraordinary majority for decisions on certain subjects. Another way is to put the issue in the constitution, beyond the reach of majority rule (Janda et al 2000). 2.5.2 The Substantive view of Democracy This school of thoughts sees democracy in the substance of government policies, in freedom of religion and provision for human needs. In the contemporary political lexicon, the advocates of this view among others are; lively (1986), Dahl (1970) and Huntington (1993). This liberal view of democracy often asserts that inspite of its imperfections, democratic politics must be accepted because it offers the best system of governing modern nation-states. This is because it ensures among other things, citizens participation, rule of law, political, social and economic rights, freedom of speech and associations as well as the press. According to procedural theory, the principle of responsiveness is absolute. The government should do what the majority wants, regardless of what is. At first, this seems a reasonable way to protect the rights of citizens in a representative government. Substantive democratic theory focuses on the substance of government policies, not on the procedures followed in making those policies. It argues that in a democratic government, certain principles must be incorporated into government policies, substantive theorists would reject a law requires bible reading in schools, 36

because it would violate a substantive principle, freedom of religion. The core of substantive principles of democracy is embedded in the bill of rights (i.e. these prevent the national government from tampering with the fundamental rights and civil liberties and emphasized the limited character of national power) and other amendments to the constitution. In defining the principles that underlie democratic government and the policies of that government, most substantive theorists agree on a basic criterion: government policies should guarantee civil liberties (freedom of behaviour, such as freedom of religion and freedom of expression) and civil rights (powers or privileges that government may not arbitrarily deny to individuals such as protection against discrimination (Janda et al 2000). In concluding on the democratic theory the procedural and substantive theorists of democracy are not always compatible, a compromise is always favoured. But, the procedural conception of democracy gave classical definition of democracy as “government by the people” and it is founded on clear, well-established rules for decision making. Procedural theory of democracy however, has a serious setback (i.e. it allows a democratic government to enact policies that can violate the substantive principles of democracy). Thus, pure procedural democracy should be diluted so that minority rights and civil liberties are guaranteed as part of the structure of government. To establishes a compromise situation; the approach should be to balance legitimate minority interests.

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2.6

THEORETICAL

FRAMEWORK

FOR

ANALYSING

DEMOCRATIC

GOVERNMENT The large number of conceptions of democracy can only be summarized by analytical means. A successful attempt to do this has been made by David Held in his in his Models Democracy (1987); cited in comparative politics (1998/1999 sixteenth edition). Five of his nine ideal type models and a sixth one added may serve as an explanatory basis for views which actually can be observed in the design and use of politics including: Libertarian, competitive, legalist, plebiscitary, participatory and pluralist democracy. But, Janda et al. (2000), in their book the ‘challenge of democracy’; classified David Held Model into ‘Majoritarian and Pluralist’ Models of Democracy. Thus, the governmental process can be evaluated using the models of democracy. This helps to classify the type of democracy practice in a country such as Ghana and to evaluate the county’s success in fulfilling that model. Some democratic theorists favour institutions that closely tie government decisions to the desires of the majority of citizens. For these theorists, the essence of democratic government is majority rule and responsiveness. Others theorists, place less importance on the principles of majority rule and responsiveness. They do not believe in relying heavily on mass opinion, instead, they favour institutions that allow group of citizens to defend in the public policymaking process. What is critical here is to allow differing interest to participate, so that all sides have the opportunity to influence policies as they are developed. Both schools of thought favours procedural view of democracy, but they differ in how they interpret, “government by the people”. The theoretical positions can be explained through; the following of Models of Democracy; ‘Majoritarian’ and ‘Pluralist’ models of democracy. The Majoritarian model values participation by the people in general, the pluralist model values participation by the people in groups. 38

2.6.1 Majoritarian (representative) Model of Democracy The Majoritarian model of democracy relies on intuitive, elemental nation of what is far. It interprets “government by the people” to mean government by the majority of the people. The Majoritarian model tries to approximate the people’s role in a direct democracy within the limitations of the representative government. To force the government to respond to public opinion, the Majoritarian model depends on several mechanisms that allow the people to participate directly. The first model is based on the classical Western conception of democracy arising after the decline of the absolutist state in Western Europe. It is reflected in most contemporary constitutions. In modern political theory, the advocates of this model was Schumpeter (1947).The model was embraced by Samuel Huntington (1993) and others in the modern political system. An important principle of this model is majority rule. A system of representation is proposed. The heart of political system is the judgment of heterogeneous interests and complex problems by representatives of the people. Direct democracy is rejected. Populism is feared. The power of every political institution and public administration has to be limited by the least possible, but effective rules. The system of politics and public administration has to be small and effective. Political system and the nation state are viewed as the crisis of institutions which can not sufficiently deal with the representatives. The popular election of government officials is the primary mechanisms for democratic government in the ‘Majoritarian Model’. Citizens are expected to control their representatives’ behaviours by choosing wisely in the first place and by re- electing or voting out public officials according to their performance. Elections fulfill the first three principles of procedural democratic theory including; ‘universal 39

participation’, ‘political equality’ and ‘majority rule’. The prospect of re-election and the treat of defeat at polls are expected to motivate public officials to meet the fourth criterion of ‘responsiveness.’ The Majoritarian theorists see elections as a means of deciding government policies. An election on policy issue is called a ‘referendum’. When a policy question is put on the ballot by citizens circulating petitions and gathering a required minimum number of signatures, it is called an ‘initiative’. The Majoritarian model contends that citizens can control their government if they have adequate mechanisms for popular participation. It also assumes that citizens have knowledgeable about government and politics that they want to participate in the political process, and that they make rational decisions in voting for their elected representatives. In ‘Majoritarian Democracy,’ the mass public controls government actions. The citizenry must therefore have some knowledge of government and willing to participate in the electoral process. Majoritarian Democracy therefore relies on electoral mechanisms that harness the power of the majority to make decisions. Conclusive elections and centralized structure of government are mechanisms that aid majority rule. Cohesive political parties with well- defined programmes also contribute to Majoritarian democracy, because they offer voters a clear way to distinguish alternative sets of policies.

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2.6.2 Pluralist (direct) Model of Democracy Political scientist struggled valiantly to reconcile the Majoritarian model of democracy with polls that showed widespread ignorance of politics among the people. When a little more than half of the adult population bothers to vote in the general elections (i.e. presidential and parliamentary), this form of democracy seems to be “government by some of the people.” ‘Pluralist democracy is also called participatory democracy’. A necessary condition of this model of democracy is the presence of informed citizens. Thus, the support of citizenship is the central aim in the model of participatory democracy. Robert Dahl (1942,170); cited in Dahl (1989) the main proponent of pluralist democracy described political system based upon a representation of competing and negotiating interest-, pressure-, religious- and ethnic groups or political parties. The 1950’ saw the evolution of this model of democracy, tailored to the limited knowledge and participation of the real electorate, not an ideal one. It was based on the concept of ‘pluralism’ –that modern society consists of innumerable groups that share economic, religious, ethnic or cultural interests. Often, people with similar interests organized formal groups e.g. political party. When an organized group seeks to influence government policy it is called interests group. The ‘Pluralist Model of Democracy’ interprets “government by the people” to mean government by people operating through competing interests groups. The criterion for democratic government changes from responsiveness to mass public opinion to responsiveness to organized groups of citizens. The two major mechanisms in a pluralist democracy are interest groups and a decentralized structure of government that provides ready access to public officials and that is open to hearing the groups’ arguments for or against government policies. For pluralists, the ideal system is one that divides government authority among numerous institutions with 41

overlapping authority. Under such a system, competing interests groups have alternative points of access for presenting and arguing their claims. According to the ideal of pluralist democracy, if all opposing interests are allowed to organize, and if the system can be kept open so that all substantial claims are heard, the decision will serve the divers needs of a pluralist society. Although many scholars have contributed to the model, pluralist democracy is most closely identified with political scientist Robert Dahl (1942, 1970). According to Dahl, the fundamental axiom of pluralist democracy is that, therefore, are ‘divided authority’, ‘decentralization’ and ‘open access.’ Pluralism therefore does not demand much knowledge from citizens in general. It requires specialized knowledge only from groups of citizens; in particular their leaders. In contrast to ‘Majoritarian Model of Democracy,’ Pluralist Democracy seeks to limit majority action so that interest groups and can be heard.

It relies on strong interests groups and a decentralized

government structure that is a mechanism that interfere with majority rule, thereby protecting the minority interest. Pluralism thus allows minorities to rule.

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2.7 Democratic Transition 2.7.1 Conceptual Views In his article, ‘Transitions to democracy’ Dankwart Rustow (1970), cited in comparative politics (1998/1999 sixteenth edition), started from the premise that all democratic countries are by and large followed the same route to democratic consolidation. He argued that barriers to democracy can be overcome provided political leaders agree to bury their differences, unite behind a drive for democracy, and agree to abide by democratic rules. For Rustow, democratic progress goes through the following five stages; first, there is a phase when national unity is established in a polity, the second is when nationally oriented polity goes through a period of prolonged and inconclusive political struggle. The second stage meant that democracy is born as a result of often intense and prolonged political contestation, but the struggle can be so intensive that fledgling democracy will collapse. There is the first transition phase, when leading political players decide to compromise to adopt democratic rules and allow each some stake in the new democratic order. This means that political leaders must agree to adopt and adapt to democratic political rules. (This is the stage of consensus building democratic-culture).’ There is second transition when democracy is constructed (this is the second transition). That is the beginning of consolidation. During this stage, democratic rules become habituated among leading political players. The final stage is when democracy is consolidated. It is judged especially problematic because it involves paths that are both complex and uncertain. Consequently, there will be success only if all major political actors are fully committed to democracy. Democratic transition is a stage with varied forms coexists with emerging postauthoritarian ones, while authoritarians and democrats share power either as a product of conflict 43

or by tentative agreement. In other words, transition is a stage with varied forms, subject to unforeseen contingencies, unfolding processes and unintended outcomes (Karl and Schmitter 1991:270);cited in the journal of democracy 1996. The cut-off point dividing authoritarian from the democratic rule is usually identified as the first free and fair elections that symbolically found the new, post- authoritarian order. Karl and Schmitter identified that, democratic transition whether short or long transition is characterized by; intense political uncertainty; struggle between competing political forces over the rules of the political game and the spoils of victory and its attendant resources and the nature of future political competition. But, while presenting opposing policies, they must agree to work together politically and neutralize non-democrats. This is important so as to avoid facilitating the return of authoritarianism. O‘Donnell calls this the ‘great accord or pact’ of the second transition (1996:24).

According to Pridham and

Vanhanen (1994:2) cited in O’Donnell 1996, “transition is a stage of regime change commencing at the point when the previous non-democratic system begins to collapse, leading to a situation in place, the democratic structures become routinised and the political elites adjust their behavior to liberal norms.” Thus, democratic transition is the period between an authoritarian and elected government, an empirically verifiable; self-contained phase of democratization. As explained, at this stage, it involves the ‘motivations, preferences, and calculations of political actors which are of great significance. Thus, one agent’s initiative prompts another actor’s response and political events cascade iteratively from one state to another (Bratton and Van de Walle 1997:24). The much euphoria in the late 1980’s and early 1990s saw the world witnessing an epochal shift to democracy, captured in the term ‘New World Order.’ Such was a shift to elected governments during this time that a new area of concern in political science was born and called ‘transitology’ that is the study of democratization; the process of becoming democratic (Bealey, 1999:100); 44

cited in Comparative politics 1998/1999 sixteenth edition). As time went on, studies of democratic transition were augmented by investigation of the difficulties of consolidating democracy, known as ‘consolidology. But, while consolidating democracy would be a long arduous and highly problematic task; there was clear evidence of gradually democratic consolidation in many new democracies. However, diamond (1999), asserted that although there was strong empirical evidence, not just of a failure of a failure of democracy to progress, but of something more serious a reverse wave away from democracy and back to authoritarianism. From this assertion, it can be argue that there is considerable risk of reversion to authoritarianism. From this assertion, it can be argue that there is considerable risk of reversion to authoritarian because political institutions of the old regime necessarily coexist with emerging post authoritarians and democrats shame power either as a product of conflict or by tentative agreement. According to Brantton and Van de Walle (1997:22), during democratic transition, political elite’s, parties and civil societies have a direct impact upon political outcomes. During the transition, it would require an extremely deterministic approach to attribute government control or lack of it over transitions, simply immovable traditions or power structures. Jeff Haynes (2001:81), also identified that, transition from authoritarian regime can occur in four reasonably clear-cut stages; Political liberation (i.e. the political process of reforming authoritarian rule), collapse of the authoritarian regime (dictatorship falls apart), democratic transition (is the material shift to democracy) normally characterized by the accession to power of a democratically elected government via free and fair elections and finally democratic consolidation (involves the construction of the institutions of divided power). During the transition, the role of political agency is critical political elite’s parties and social have a direct

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impact upon political outcomes dwarfing that of deep structures (Bratton and Van de Walle 1997:22). A concluded transition to democracy therefore involves a patterned of behavior developed on ad hoc basis during the change in regimes becomes a stable structure in the new system structure and when the admittance of political actors into the system as well as the process of political decision making proceeds according to previously established and legitimately coded procedures. 2.7.2 Democratic Transition in Comparative Perspective The Majoritarian model conforms to classical democratic theory for a representative government. According to this model, democracy should be a form of government that features responsiveness to majority opinion. According to pluralist model, a government is democratic if it allows minority interests to organize and press their claims on government freely. By a true democracy, it means countries that meet the criteria for procedural democracy (i.e. universal participation, political equality, and majority rule and government responsiveness to public opinion) and have established substantive policies supporting such civil liberties as freedom of speech and freedom of association which create the necessary conditions for the practice of democracy. Until recently, few countries fully met all the criteria to be considered as democratic countries. What is encouraging is that today, the world is awash in countries that are trying to make a transition to democracy. In Africa alone, more than twenty countries are moving in some fashion towards a democratic form of government. But, democratization is difficult process and many 46

countries fail completely or succeed only in the short run and lapse into a form of authoritarianism. As one scholar calls global tendency towards a uniform type of government called democracy and a uniform type of economy called capitalism a movement towards a “MacWorld”. That is nations are being pressed “into one commercially homogeneous global network. One MacWorld tried together by technology, ecology, communications, and commerce” (Janda et al 2000:50). Since the 1990’s, three developments occurred (i.e., democratization, capitalist revolution and ethnic or cultural politics), that had a very important role in changing the political world. One is democratic revolution’ or democratization. This refers to a widespread trend towards some form of popular government, which often, but not always, takes the form of a search for representative, pluralist democracy in countries that were previously ruled by some form of authoritarian oligarchy or dictatorship (Journal of democracy 1996:20-37). Democratization (or democratization) is the transition to a more democratic political regime. It may be the transition from an authoritarian regime to a full democracy, a transition from an authoritarian political system to a semi-democracy or transition from a semi-authoritarian political system to a democratic political (Journal of democracy 1996: 20-37). In a widely, adopted phrase, Samuel Huntington in (1991) identified this trend as the “third Wave” of democratization in modern history. The “First Wave” was both slow and long in its reach. It began in 1820s and lasted about one century, until 1926, a period during which first the United States and subsequently 28 other countries established governments based on a wide and eventually universal suffrage. In 1922, however, Mussolini’s capture of power in Italy began a period of reversal, which lasted until 1940’s. During this decade, the number of democracies fell 47

from 29 to 12, as many became victims of dictatorial takeovers or military conquests, Larry Diamond (cited in Comparative politics, 1998/1999:222). A “Second Wave” of democratization started with the Allied victory in World War II and continued during the early post-war years of decolonization. This wave lasted until 1962 and resulted in the conversion of about two dozen previously authoritarian systems into democracies or quasi-democracies, sometimes of very short duration. In the mid- 1970s, then the important “third wave” of democratization got its start, Larry Diamond (cited in Comparative politics, 1998/1999:224). At the beginning of 1990s, Huntington counted about 60 democracies in the world, which roughly amounts to a doubling of their number in less than two decades. It is an impressive change, but Huntington pointed out that, the process was likely to reverse once again in a number of new and unstable democracies. Both Huntington and Diamond’s findings lend support to the conclusion that democracy’s advance has been at best a “two steps forward, one step back” kind of process. Finally, there is the snowballing or demonstration effect of a successful early transition to democracy in countries like Spain or Poland, which served as models for other countries in similar circumstances, Larry Diamond in (Comparative politics, 1998/1999:224). Samuel Huntington (1991) has described as the ‘third wave of democratization.’ Huntington explains; “A wave of democratization is a group of transitions from non-democratic to democratic regimes that occur within a specified period of time and that significantly outnumber transitions in the opposite direction during that period of time. A wave usually involves liberalization in political systems that do not become fully democratic. Three waves (first wave, second wave and now third wave) of democratization have occurred in the modern world” (Huntington 1991:15). 48

Pinckney observes that during the transition, it would require an extremely deterministic approach to attribute government control or lack of it, over transitions simply to immovable traditions or power structures (1993, 139 – 40); cited in comparative politics 1998/1999; sixteenth edition). But after transition a renewed focus on the impact of structures is necessary to explain in different countries whose socio-economic status are similar, however it is also crucial to factor in what political actors do, because during attempts to consolidate democracy, the initiatives and interplay of purposive political actors are also important (Barton and Vande Walle 1997:2). 2.8 Democracy and political participation 2.8.1 Conceptual Views Democracy vested power on those who are governed. Rulers who are the representatives of the governed are bound to give their stewardship.

Therefore, the Athenian and Lincoln’s

conceptions of direct and representative forms of democracy respectively have political participation as power of government resides in the people (Gbensuglo et al., 2007, unpublished, a Dissertation for the award of BA Degree). Government ought to be run by the people, and that is the democratic ideal in a nutshell. But, how much and what kind of citizen participation is necessary for democratic government? Champions of direct democracy believe that if citizens do not participate directly in government affairs, making governments decisions themselves, they should give up all pretense of living in a democracy. More political observers contend that people can govern indirectly, through their

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elected representatives. They also maintain that, choosing leaders through elections (i.e. formal procedure of voting) is the only workable approach to democracy. Political participation involves those who enter political life as occasional politicians, who “cast a ballot or consummate a similar expression of intension such as applauding or protesting in a political meeting” (Weber, 1946:83); cited in Huntington 1991. In his Representative Government, published in 1861, John Stuart Mill that;… “the only government which can fully satisfy the exigencies of the social state is one in which the whole people, that any participation, even in the smallest public function, is useful; that the participation should everywhere will allow, and that nothing less can be ultimately desirable than the admission of all to share in the sovereign power of the state”…John Stuart Mill 1861 (cited in Dorothy Pickles 1971 :15). According to this view of Mill, wherever people are able to and willing to participate in the process of government, provision ought to make for them to do so, because he believed that the quality of democracy could be judged by the extent of citizen participation. In other words, political participation is about voice and equality and is mainly a voluntary activity. As Robert Dahl puts it;…”if one regards political equality in the making of decisions as a kind of limit to be achieved, then it is axiomatic that this limit could only be arrived at with the complete participation of every adult citizen. Nevertheless, what we call democracy; that is a system of decision-making in which the leaders are more or less responsive to the preferences of nonleaders…does seem to operate with a relatively low to say that one of the necessary conditions for democracy is extensive citizen participation”… Robert Dahl (cited in Dorothy Pickles 50

1971:16). On the view of Robert Dahl, most people are politically apathetic and that this fact does not necessarily invalidate the claim of states to be a democracy, which is true, but totally beside the point. Political participation is an ingredient of every political system whether traditional or modern, democratic or totalitarian Political participation is therefore defined as “an activity that has the intent or effect of influencing government activities either directly by affecting the formulation or implantation of public policies and programmes or indirectly influencing the selection of people who make those policies” (Verba et, al, 1995:42);cited in Boafo-Arthur (ed) 2006.It has been noted that, political participation affords citizens in a democracy an opportunity to communicate information to government officials about their concerns and preferences and to put pressure on them to respond. Studies of political participation have traditionally been restricted to voting. However, even through voting is an important mode of citizen involvement in politics; it is one of the many overt political acts. Other political acts which contributing to electoral campaigns and organizations, contracting government officials attending protests and marches, or demonstrations, working informally with others to solve some community problems, being active politically through the intermediation of voluntary associations and contributing money to political causes (Verba et al, 1995:42), cited in Boafo-Arthur (ed) 2006. Political participation, according to Jan Teorell et al, enables citizens to voice their grievances writing letters to representatives, campaigning for a political party, signing a petition and joining a protest march. A more subtle approach may involve offering financial support to charity and boycotting certain products on the market. They defined ‘political participation as any behavior intended to directly or indirectly influence public decision-making process thereby securing a particular political outcome’ (Jan Teorell et.al (1999), cited in Boafo-Arthur (ed) 2006. In their 51

view of political participation Janda etal (2000:202), defined political participation as “those actions of private citizens by which they seek to influence or to support government and politics”. This definition embraces conventional (example, voting) and unconventional (example mass demonstration and petitions) forms of political participation. It follows that political participation is the involvement of the individual at various levels in the political system. Political participation refers to the various ways in which citizens take part in politics (example, political recruitment, holding political office inter-alia). The general level of participation in a society is thus the extent to which the people as a whole are committed to political activity. In the light of these views, the thesis conceptualizes political participation as series of activities that significantly influence public policy or government actions, including participation in political discourse, election processes and community action. These broad activities comprise of the specific actions below. 2.8.2 Political Participation Model This conceptual framework shows the linkage between political participation and democratic consolidation. People involvement in political discourse, election processes and community action creates an “active political participation” environment that demands either positive or negative response from political/public office holders. While a positive response sends appropriate signals/feedback to the citizenry and enhances political culture, which subsequently feeds back into the political participation processes to deepen the democratic consolidation of the country, but a negative feedback diminishes democratic culture.

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Figure 1: Political Participation Model Partipation in Political Discourse

Partipation in Community Action

Partipation in Election Process

Positive Public Holder Response

Appropriate and Right Feed Back Positive Public Holder Response

Active Political Participation

Positive Public Holder Response Negative Public Holder Response

Inappropriate and Wrong Feed Back

Author’s construct, 2011 Political participation in Ghana since 1992 has occurred within the framework of multi-party democracy; hence the level of democratic processes, at the local level is important to determine political participation and democratic consolidation linkage. For a decade now, Ghana under the Fourth Republican Constitutional Democracy has enjoyed peaceful and progressive democratic governance. According to Ellen M.Katz-a freelance writer, quoted by Beatrice Torshie torto (in Daily Graphic, 13th January, 2011 p.2), “the heart of democracy is the active participation by the people in government officials accountable for their actions.” Inspite of the challenges and nerve-racking moments of minor violence, confusion and tensions of electoral democracy in 53

Ghana the journey has been manageable and profitable in terms of development, prestige, growth and trust among the citizenry and international community 2.9 Democratic Consolidation 2.9.1 Conceptual Views Democratic transitions from authoritarian regimes are the necessary prerequisite for democratic consolidation. Democratic consolidation is promoted when transition involves negotiations and deals between the outgoing elite and the leading representatives of the democratic opposition. Democratic consolidation involves quite different challenges to political actors than those encountered during transition and consequently, requires different analysis. After transition the main challenges is to institutionalize democratic competition between groups and organizations with conflicting interests and aspirations, previously united in opposition to authoritarian rule. To facilitate democratic consolidation, political actors must now agree to subordinate their strategies and divisions so that at the very least a return to authoritarian rule is not facilitated. For Samuel P. Huntington (1991), democracy is said to be consolidated when a polity passes the ‘two-turn over test’. That is, a “government loses an election, the opposition wins it and then, next time, loses it so that a new government from the opposition is formed.” Democratic consolidation is therefore said to have occurred when contending social classes and political groups accept both formal rules and informal understanding determining political outcomes that is ‘who get what, Where, when and how.’ Also, O’ Donnell (1996) suggest that democracy can be said to be consolidated when all major political actors take for granted the fact that democratic processes dictate governmental renewal.

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However, Linz and Stepan (1996:6) argued that democratic consolidation does not depend on electoral results rather the concepts amounts to a particular institutionalized form of democracy. It is a procedural system with open political competition, multiple parties, freely competing, and impressive array of civil and political rights guaranteed by law. Political accountability is crucial and operates primarily via the electoral relationship between voters and their representatives. For Linz and Stepan, consolidated democracy refers to “a political regime in which democracy as a complex system of institutions rules and patterned incentives or disincentives has become, in a phrase ’the only game in town’ “behaviorally attitudinally and constitutionally.” “Behaviourally, means that, a “democracy is said to be consolidated when no significant actors (national, social, economic, political or institutional actors) attempt to use non-democratic means or spend significant resources attempting to achieve their objectives by creating a nondemocratic regime or turning to violence or foreign intervention to secede from the state to obtain a political goal”. Attitudinally, “implies that democratic procedures and institutions are considered by the vast majority of the citizens to be the preferred way or best means to govern collective life or organizing politics and where support for anti-system alternatives is quite small or more or less isolated from the pro-democratic forces.” Constitutionally, signifies that “governmental as well as non-governmental actors or forces become subjected and habituated to, the resolution of conflict within the specific laws and institutions sanctioned by the new democratic process.” ...Linz and Stepan (1997:15). 55

Linz and Stepan concluded that, consolidated democracy is one that meets the three minimal conditions of “stateness,” a completed democratic transition, and a government that rules democratically. Thus, according to them the following three minimal conditions must be met before democratic consolidation can be heed, winners cannot exercise the monopoly of legitimate force and citizens cannot effectively have their rights protected by a rule of law, unless a state exists in some parts of the world, conflicts about the authority and domain of the ‘polis’ and the identities and loyalties of the ‘demons’ are so intense that, no state exists. ‘No state no democracy.’

Secondly, ‘democracy cannot be thought of consolidated until a democratic

transition has been brought to completion’ and thirdly, no regime should be called a democracy unless its’ rulers govern democratically.’ On the contrary, for Bratton and Van de Walle (1997:279), a “consolidated democracy requires that democratic institutions are not only built but also valued”. Democracy can be installed without democrats but it cannot be consolidated without them. Political actors may initially see a founding election the ‘least worst’ alternative to solve an intractable political standoff or to induce political movement in an ossified regime. Democracy may even survive in the short run under the force of these kinds of strategic calculations, but democracy will truly last only when political actors learn to love it. Scheduler (1998:91) has argued that the term democratic consolidation has acquired a confusing array of meanings. In his view, the “differences in understanding the term reflect in part the differences in the point actually reached in the democratization process under review and in part due more a normative preferences.” Democratic consolidation is said to be present when all major political actors take for granted the fact that democratic processes dictates governmental renewal. The term has broadened in scope to encompass the deeper requirement for what democracy should entail, beside the simplistic 56

mechanistic tests such as weather a country has experience two successive and relatively peaceful transfer of power. 2.9.2 Conceptual Framework of Democratic Consolidation Politics is and always will be the output of the politically active; thus democracy is and can only be the political system in which the power resides in the active ‘demo’ (Sartori, 1962:90). This view of democracy was recapitulated by Robert Dahl (1971), that “democracy is a procedure that produces a polyarchy in which competition on the electoral market results in the attribution of power to the people.” Thus, according to the main argument, democracy is a political system in which the influence of the majority is assured by elective and competitive minorities to whom it is entrusted. This definition of democracy not only stresses that “ if we cannot expect citizens always to check leaders… the, we are forced to rely heavily on checks exerted by other leaders, but also the virtue of bringing out the vital role of leadership, as it implies that minorities are a sine quo non condition of the system … (Sartori, 1962:126). As with democracy, there are many conceptual approaches to democratic consolidation in the literature. But, democratic consolidation is most usefully construed as the process of achieving broad and deep legitimation, such that all significant political actors at both the elites and mass levels believe that, democratic government is the most right and appropriate for their society, better than any other realistic alternative they can imagine. Consolidation encompass what Dankwart Rustow 1970, cited in Huntington (1991); Calls “habituation” in which the norms, 57

procedures and expectations of democracy become so internalized that actors routinely, instinctively conforms to the written and unwritten rules of the game, even when they conflict and compete intensely. This conceptual view point can be interpreted to mean that, democratic consolidation can only be fully understood as encompassing a shift in political culture. Thus, democracy in principle is the best form of government, therefore for it to be consolidated, elites, organizations and the mass public must all believe that, the political system they usually have in their country shared normative and behavioural commitment to the specific rules and practices of the country’s constitutional system, what Juan Linz (1997) calls “royalty” to the democratic regime. The popular conceptual framework of analyzing democratic consolidation is the one given by Linz and Stepan (1997:15), that “democratic consolidation refers to a political system in which democracy as a complex system of institutions, rules and patterned, incentives and disincentives has become in a phrase the “only game in town,” behaviorally, attitudinally and constitutionally. “Behaviourally” means that no significant actors attempt to use non-democratic means to obtain political power or goal; “Attitudinally” implies that democratic procedures and institutions are considered by the vast majority to be the preferred way of organizing politics and “Constitutionally” signifies that actors (governmental and non-governmental) are subjected to the laws and institutions of the democratic process.

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The above view provides a conceptual framework for democratic consolidation as illustrated below. Figure 2: Conceptual Framework of Democratic Consolidation Return to Consttutional Rule

State-Civil Society

Quality of

Linkage Structures

Governance

Public Confidence Towards Government

Process of Democratic Consolidation

Nation Building

Source: Author Construct, 2011. The argument presented here is that, democratization is not a necessary prerequisite to a viable nation building process, but rather that in order to make a legitimate claim to power, the state must present and prove itself as the better alternative amongst a variety of mutually dislocative and functionally equivalent structures of democratic governance.

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2.10 Democracy in Ghana 2.10.1 An Overview of Constitutional Democracy in Ghana Ghana’s post independence democratic history began in March 1957 with a liberal democratic rule which soon degenerated into a quasi dictatorship; and as a result, the first military coup of 1966 (Gyimah-Boadi 2001). In the subsequent one and half decades, Ghana made two other brief attempts at liberal democracy between 1969-1972 and 1979-1981.But, each was overthrown after twenty seven months. In the later instance, Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings, who assumed the reigns of power for a hundred and twelve days in 1979 and handed over to the civilian administration of President Hilla Liman and his People’s National Party (PNP) staged a comeback on the Christmas eve of 1981. The new ruling group, the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC), also under Rawlings’ chairmanship, in spite of its name stuck to power for eleven years until Democratic Innovation in the South i.e. developing world in the early 1990s. (Gyimah-Boadi 2001). To a large extent, Ghana was a beneficiary of globalization in this political sense. With the collapse of communism and the clamour for political openness and economic restructuring in the country, the democratic mode of governance which had been jettisoned several times by the military was resurrected. Consequently, in January 1993 a new and irreversible democratic journey started once again with the exit of the Provisional National Defence council (PNDC) after general elections in December 1992. Since the landmark elections of December 1992 60

which led to the inauguration of the Fourth Republic on 7th January 1993, there have been unprecedented democratic elections in 1996, 2000 and 2004, Kwame Boafo-Arthur (2006; 3334). This democratization coincides with what S.P. Huntington (1991), sees as “the third wave of democratization” which begun engulfing the whole world in the last two decades of the twentieth century, and by embarking on democratization process, Ghana seems to be endorsing what Gitonga (1988-5) terms “a progressive sanctification of the democratic idea.” 2.10.2 Democratization and Elections in Ghana Ghana which embarked on the democratic path (second wave in 1957 after first wave normally described as ‘self internal rule’ (1951-1957), became authoritarian state in 1980s. But, the authoritarianism which occurred in Ghana’s politics in the early 1980s encountered Huntingtonian democratic wave when the Fourth Republican Constitution was adopted in 1992 and popular elections were conducted in the same year. Ghana has made successful transition from authoritarianism to liberal democracy through popular participation, competitive free and fair elections and free flow information, after going through two peaceful elections in 1992 and 1996 (Sand brook 1999). The right to choose the representatives of the people through voting in the most fundamental right endowed to the people or citizens in a liberal democratic state. William (1997) writes: “Democrats of all persuasions would probably agree that participation built on the act of voting is the focus of democracy.”

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In the course of time Ghana evolved clearly defined means for the participation in national politics. The 1992 Fourth Republican Constitution was endorsed in a referendum in April 1992, made provisions for political parties law (PNDC Law 281), the Representation of People’s Law (PNDC Law 284, 1992), and the Representation of the people (parliamentary constituencies Instrument, LII 538), provide clear modalities and acceptable legal frameworks for participation in political activities by the people of this country (Ayee 1998). According to Ayee, the December 1996 nationals elections moved Ghana past the threshold of democracy and made it an outstanding model for the rest of Africa. Such judgment are indicative of the fact that free and fair competitive elections are considered as much as midwife of democracy, that is “if we view democracy in developmental terms as emerging in fragments or parts by no fixed timetable or sequence” just they are the means for authenticating the democratic credentials of a country. Democracy is consolidated where elections are occurred within the framework of democratic culture. In the words of Salih democratic “consolidation has to do with the probability of sustaining democratic process defined minimally as free, fair and regular elections plus all the freedoms; including freedom to oppose, associate, speak and freedom of media that necessarily go with such elections”…Mohammed Salih(2001). It is a stage of where democracy attains a “very high probability of endurance. Since 1992, the most heralded elections conducted in Ghana were the 7th and 28th December, 2000 General Elections and a litmus test of Ghana’s experimentation with liberal democracy. This is because, for Samuel P. Huntington (1991), democracy is said to be consolidated when a polity passes the ‘two-turn over test.’ That is, a government loses an election, the opposition 62

wins it and then, next time, loses it so that a new government from the opposition is formed. The 2008 elections were the fifth time since 1992 that Ghanaians freely chose their president and the parliamentarians under the Fourth Republican Constitutional rule. The previous 1992 and 1996 elections may be viewed as institutional attempts to move Ghana from authoritarianism to popular participation and the public contestation spurred in part by the world-wide democratic revolution which Samuel Huntington (1991) has described as the ‘third wave of democratization.’ Huntington explains; “A wave of democratization is a group of transitions from non-democratic to democratic regimes that occur within a specific period of time and that significantly outnumber transitions in the opposite direction during that period of time. A wave usually involves liberalization in political systems that do not become fully democratic. Three waves (first wave, second wave and now third wave) of democratization have occurred in the modern world”…(Huntington 1991:15). In his summary of James Madison, a major proponent and paragon of liberalism, According to William Riker, 1988; cited in Janda et al (2000) , “In the liberal view, the function of voting is to control officials and no more. Madison, who is the original American spokesman for liberal democracy (or republicanism, as he called it) defined a republic as ‘a government that derives all its powers directly or indirectly from the great body of the people and is administered by people holding their offices during pleasure, for a limited period as during good behavior.’ The first requirement of liberal democracy is popularness, the second is election and limited tenure…popularness…ensures participation and equality…(E)lection and limited tenure…ensure liberty…(T)he defence of liberty lies in the discipline of elections.” 63

The above two conditional requirements of liberal democracy are aggressively being pursued in Ghana. For example the ,Article 42 of the 1992 Fourth Republican Constitution states: “Every citizen of Ghana of eighteen years of age above and of sound mind has the right to vote and be voted for and is entitled to be registered as voters for the purposes of public elections and referenda” (Republic of Ghana, 1992). In sum, the study is informed by ‘liberal polyarchy’ notion of democracy by Robert Dahl (1971), which emphasis ‘popular participation and public contestation’ and electoral success is a function of satisfaction of electorate demand or their expected utility. Liberal democratic practice is dynamic inter-play of institutional characteristics and performance, the individual’s value orientation and rules and procedures that maximize political participation and consolidating democracy. 2.10.3 Democratization and Local Level Participation in Ghana The prospect for democratic consolidation is a function of the extent to which democratic processes are deeply ingrained in local political processes. Unfortunately in Ghana, the efforts at democratic consolidation are centered on political processes at the national level, constantly affirming the interest of the political elite (CDD –Ghana, 2003). In Ghana, the objective of the local government system was to promote popular participation in the planning and implementation of development policies and programmes at the local level. Participation in local governance is thus, a good barometer measuring the depth of democratic practice in a country. If the majority of the populace is kept on the margins of decision-making, a truly democratic system will be difficult to establish. 64

The slow pace of decentralization notwithstanding, the role local government plays in national development cannot be dismissed and imminent reforms will quicken the pace of decentralization and enhance the accountability capacities of ordinary citizens at local level government level. That is why the participation of citizens in deciding who represents them at local government level is of paramount importance. Besides, the development of local government is critical in sustaining democratic systems. Studies have shown that countries such as Botswana have made gains in democratic development because they paid a lot of attention to grassroots participation in democratic processes. In this regard, Bratton and Van Walle (1997:217), asserted that; the major index of democratic consolidation is the extent to which political power is decentralized to the local levels of the national polity. But, the prevalence of elitist and neo-patrimonial tendencies among the political elite tends to undermine and denigrate the political processes at the grassroots levels which seriously undermine the project of democratic consolidation (Amponsah, 2003:175). Also, according to Oluwu (1999:285), in Africa, “discussions of governance have tended to concentrate on the national level. There is practically no literature on how national democratic processes relate to local governance” In Ghana, it has been rightly observed that a great deal of contradictions exist between the efforts at democratic consolidation at the national level or “high levels” of politics and the efforts made at the local or “lower levels” of politics( Boafo-Arthur 2003:255). In the nut-shell, local political processes are perceived as “low politics” while national politics is considered as “high politics” and therefore worthy of significant attention (Amposah, 2003). However, Oluwu noted, that if government is to be effective and democratic then, it must be local. If indeed, local government 65

serves the crucial purpose of ‘training both citizens and the political leadership in the democratic life” (Oluwu 1999:286), then denigrating it has serious consequences for the overall project of democratic consolidation. The literature review shows that voter turn-out in national elections since 1992 has an average of over 70% while in the local elections is as low as 29%. Since the inauguration of constitutional democracy in 1993, the electoral process recorded percentage turn-out of 50.2%/29%, 78.25, 61.7%, 85.12% and 69.79/72.9 of 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004 and 2008 respectively. But, the district level elections since 1988/89, has been recording low percentage turn-out as 59.25%, 29.3%, 45.1%, 33.3%, 44% and 32% of 1988/89, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006 and 2010 respectively. In 2006 local government elections, the voter turn-out was estimated to b 44%, a slight from 33.3% in 2002, while 2010 n the percentage turn-out fell to 32%. By comparison, voter turn out for the 2004 and 2008 general elections were 85.1% and 69.52% respectively. A Centre for Democratic Development, Ghana reports on the 2002 local government elections CDD-2003 cited in Boafo-Authur Kwame (ed 2006), noted for instance that there was ample evidence that “ interests in competitive and participatory politics at the local level was very thin.” The elitist and neo-patrimonial tendency of Africa’s nascent democracies is one of the major stumbling blocks to building and strengthening democracy in Africa (Bratton Van de Walle, 1997). The general weakness of the institutions of governance at the local level facilitates the national political elite’s indulgence in neo-patrimonial practices. Debrah (2003:103-104), noted that, “much more lamentable was the role of the EC, the most important institution charged with the responsibility for managing this job,” He concluded that the “majority of respondents felt that 66

EC did not do a good in providing the local people with adequate education on the 2002 local elections,” and that while EC provided some limited number of posters and advertised the elections in some selected media, they were ineffectively carried out. First of all, the posters arrived in the middle of the elections and their late delivery to the localities did not help to attract the attention of the electorate.” Amposah (2003) paints a similar picture about the media and the NCCE, both crucial agencies responsible for the effective and efficient management of the electoral process. Jonah (2003) on his part notes that a major which local government and decentralization could make to the democratization process.” He notes further “Not surprisingly, the neglect of local government and decentralization in the study of democratization has consigned to oblivion the importance of elections to grassroots. Commenting on local level participation, Debrah asserted that; “The inadequacy of the election publicity was partly responsible for the low turn-out, because any successful voting rests on efficient awareness programmes days and weeks prior to the polling day. This issue is important and requires serious attention, first because it portrays the hurdles to be overcome in order to ensure efficient grassroots participation and second because of a very significant and robust relationship that exists between voter education and effective participation.”...Debra (2003:106). While the system of local government in Ghana is yet to achieve the objective of active and effective popular political participation, it nevertheless represents a critical mechanism by which voices beyond the seat of the government (i.e. Accra) and other regional capitals can be heard and action taken to respond to the needs of the people. The fact that local level elections do not achieve similar percentage participatory turnout rates gives much cause for concern because these elections are perhaps the most potent tool available 67

to the marginalized members of the society to enable their participation in the political system. The thesis thus, seeks to determine local level political participation towards democratic consolidation in Ghana.

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CHAPTER THREE BRIEF PROFILE OF SISSALA WEST DISTRICT 3.1 Introduction The Sissala West District dove-tailes as Sissala West Constituency and is the study area for this thesis. The Sissala West District was carved out of the then Sissala District in 2004 by the Legislative Instrument, LI 1771. The district is one of the eight (8) districts in the Upper West Region of Ghana. The district capital is Gwollu, located 30km West of Tumu, the capital of the then Sissala District, now the capital of Sissala East District. Representation of People’s Law (PNDC Law 284, 1992 and the Representation of the people (parliamentary constituencies Instrument, LII 538), provide clear modalities and acceptable legal frameworks for participation in political activities by the people of this country, and thus mandates the Electoral Commission of Ghana to divide into as many as constituencies for the purpose of election of Member of Parliament as the Electoral Commission may prescribe and each Constituency shall be represented by one Member of Parliament. For this reason, Sissala West Constituency was therefore carved out of the Sissala Constituency by Electoral Commission 2004 and it is one of the ten (10) constituencies in the Upper West Region.

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3.2 Location Sissala West Constituency is located at the north-western part of Ghana, and north-central part of the Upper West Region. The Constituency /District is bounded to the north by Burkina-Faso, to the south by Wa East Constituency, the east by Sissala East Constituency and to the west by Jirapa and Lamusie constituencies respectively. The Constituency covers about 25% (i.e. 4620) out of 18478km2 of the total landmass of the Upper West Region (Sissala West District, 2006). 3.3 Population Sissala West District has a total population of 44,440. The labour force (aged 15-64) dominates 40% of the total population. Those aged 64 and above represent 6.3%, whiles those aged 1-15 equals 44.7%. the district has a population density of 12 persons per square km. This is much lower than that of the regional figure of 31.2 persons per km. the constituency has registered voter population of 25,334, made up of 10.082 females and 15,252 males. The constituency is entirely rural. By national standards, any community with a population of less that 5000 is termed as rural (Ghana Statistical Services, 2005). All the communities in the constituency have population less than 5000 making constituency hundred (100) percent rural. Hence the reason for choosing the constituency since the research focused on the local level participation in the political process.

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3.4 Area Councils The LII 589 of the Local Government establishment status 1994 created Urban, Zonal, Area and Unit Committees. The Sissala West District has four area councils with a total of fifty-six (56) communities; including Gwollu, Fielmuo, and Pulima and Zini area councils. The distribution is shown in the table below. Table 1: Area Councils

Area council

Number of Communities

Population

Gwollu

19

17968

Fielmuo

13

12876

Pulima

9

6350

Zini

15

7240

Total

56

44,440

Source: Sissala West District, 2010. 3.5 Electoral Areas But, for the purpose of local governance and political participation, the constituency has been demarcated into fifteen electoral areas as indicated in the table below;

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Table 2: Electoral Areas ELECTORAL AREA

SEAT CAPITAL

REGISTERED VOTES 2008

TOTAL 2010

Pulima

Pulima

1073

134

1,207

Fielbelle

Kupulima

834

132

966

Mwanggubelle

Sorbelle

2519

132

2,645

Gwollu

Jausiala

1604

72

1676

Dzawia

Dzawia

1509

24

1,533

Kusali

Kusali

1,068

48

1116

Jeffissi

Jeffissi

1,672

181

1853

Dasima

Dasima

1,339

153

1,492

Bullu

Bullu

1346

87

1,433

Kwala

Kwala

656

88

744

Fielmuo

Fielmuo

1,278

129

1407

Nimoro

Nimor

817

109

926

Buo

Buo

1165

166

1331

Liero

Liero

979

172

1151

72

Zini

Zini

847

106

953

Chetu

Chetu

513

63

576

Tiiwii

Tiiwii

990

147

1137

Fatchu

Fatchu

821

161

982

Niator

Niator

530

144

674

Gumo

Gumo

547

88

635

Gwollu

Konala/Wuljua

876

21

897

21,376

3,958

25,334

Total

Source: Sissala West District Electoral Commission, Gwollu 2010. 3.6 Ethnic and Culture The constituency is heterogeneous. It is made up of Sissala, Dagaaba or Dagara. However there are other relatively smaller tribes mainly of northern and southern origin dotted in the district. But, Fulani’s are scattered in the constituency as settlers from the Neigbouring Burkina-Faso. The indigenes of the constituency are the Sissala and Dagaaba with Dagaaba as minority mainly located at Fielmuo. The people practice three religions as Islam, Christianity and traditional religions. The dominant religion in the constituency is Islam. The main festival celebrated in the district is the ‘Kukur Baghr’ by the people of Fielmuo.

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3.7 Occupation and Economic Activities Farming is the main occupation of the people in the constituency. The appreciable level of educational attainment in the constituency reflected in the occupation of the people. The bulk of the population are farmers represent 34.8%. The unemployed are 13.1%, which tallies with the national unemployment average of 13.0%. The traders or business people also formed 6% and remaining prominent categories include teaching 17.1%, trades (9.6%), service 12.6% and artisans (6.8%). This paints the picture of a relatively modern society with prospects for socioeconomic advancement which should promote a relatively high participant political culture. (source: Sissala West District profile, 2006). 3.8 Education Illiteracy rate among the people is quite high.

A breakdown of educational levels in the

constituency shows that 34% of the population has no formal education. An appreciable number of the population could either read or write. Thus 66% either had basic, secondary, teacher training college or technical education. The assumption that the urban areas tend to be more privileged than the rural communities in terms of amenities such as education is gradually disappearing because the so-called rural-urban dichototomy is not born out by the evidence as shown above. 3.9 Political Tradition and Party affiliation Political tradition is a cardinal aspect f democratic consolidation, this is because it underpins and sustains the party system especially the multi-party system. Invariably, it becomes obvious that a multi-party system is viable where the parties have long traditions. 74

In their detailed study of growth of democracy in Ghana, for example Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana; 2002) reported that though the population was dissatisfied with economic conditions, they are content with adherence to their party tradition and affiliations as well as the democratic rules of the game (i.e. democracy). A major explanation that the report noted was attached to political traditions amongst Ghanaians. The report, concluded “nearly two –thirds (i.e. 62%) of Ghanaians/respondents admit a party affiliation” adding that “Allegiance to political parties appears to be strong with half (i.e. 52%) of the sample professing more than causal commitment to the party of their Choice (CDD; Ghana ibid 34; emphasis added). As Bratton and Van de Walle (op.et; 41) Have stated “A country’s political prospects derive directly from its own inherited practice” (cited in Kwame Boafo-Arthur (ed 2006:288). That is, regime transitions are shaped by the institutional legacies of preceding political regimes. Historically, two main political traditions dominated Ghana’s political scene since independence (Nkrumah’s and Busia-Danquah traditions), until 1980’s when a new political tradition (Rawlings-NDC tradition) began to form, capturing almost entirely the political space of Nkrumah-CPP tradition. As Jonah (1998:90) put “it is strongly believed that a Rawlings tradition has now been established in Ghanaian politics drawing its support from each of the old established traditions” Political affiliations according to Jonah (1998), in most cases have resulted from historical political socialization processes through families and especially, the inspiration derived from certain past leaders. In fact, in Ghanaian politics the landmark achievements of particular leaders 75

are so crucial and serve as the basis for attachment to particular party. “Politics is history and you cannot dismiss past leaders…it’s not so much their faces but the contributions they have made” (Jonah, 1998:89). Voters in the three Northern Regions affiliated with the CPP tradition because of the historical record of achievements in these regions attributable to CPP and to Nkrumah in particular (Ayee,1998). Under Rawlings administration, electricity was extended to the three Northern Regions, they also enjoyed extensive infrastructural development including roads, water, bridges and lastly a University. Clearly, the dominant political tradition in the Sissala West Constituency can be clustered into CPP-NDC, the CPP-PNC traditions. Rawlings NDC tradition has become well grounded in the Constituency. But, the CPP-PNC tradition of the Dr. Hilla Liman (former president of Ghana), who was a leading CPP member is also a native of Sissala West and hailed from Gwollu, the constituency capital. People of the constituency are inclined to the CPP/ NDC/PNC tradition. This is illustrated in the table below: Table 3: Political Tradition and Party Affiliation in Sissala West Constituency Party

Frequency

Percentage

CPP-NDC

42

10.5

CPP-PNC

63

15.8

PNC

34

8.5

NDC

117

29.25

NPP

7

1.8

76

OTHERS

67

24.3

TOTAL

400

100.0

Source: Department of political science, University of Ghana 2004

3.10 Trends in Political Participation Another interesting issue that relates to voting pattern in the constituency is the trend of participation. This may serve as a clue for understanding voter behaviour in the constituency. If the argument of incumbency is anything to go by, Sissala West Constituency would have voted for NPP in (2004 and 2008) General Elections. This is yet another reason for testing the extent to which political tradition play a role in the trend of political participation in Ghana. Equally important is the fact that the then Sissala Constituency, historically Pro-CPP-PNC and lately ProNDC, witnessed re-demarcation into Sissala West and East with their capitals at Gwollu and Tumu, respectively. In recent times, the constituency solidly voted for NDC. This is because, Jonah (1998) explained that Rawlings-NDC captured almost entirely the political space of Nkrumah-CPP tradition. The involvement of citizens in active political activities is another indicator of a participation or civic political culture which is considered paramount for sustaining and consolidation democracy in modern nations. An examination of the level of active partisan engagement is very important because Afro-barometer (CDD Ghana, 2002), surveys paint a dicey view of Ghanaians and their attitudes towards politics. The report described a large number of Ghanaians (50%) as relatively passive towards politics, 39% antipathetic to politics while 11% were even less sanguine, saying 77

they would discuss political matters only if they had the chance (Boafo-Arthur ed. 2006:294). The report concluded that aside from voting in the elections, the level of political participation of Ghanaians is low.

This picture of low level of political participation is reflected in the

constituency towards engagement in partisan political associations. The available data indicates that 28.7% of electorates in the Sissala West Constituency admitted being members of political parties (but, the national figure is 35.3%) and 70.8% are not registered members of a political party, claimed to be members of either NDC, or NPP, thus confirming Sandbrook and Olbeum’s (1999), finding on the prevalence of an incipient two-party system in the Ghanaian political landscape. The same is true of the results from the nation survey, which reflects how people voted in all elections since the Fourth Republic was inaugurated; 1992, 1996, 2000 ,2004 and 2008. Thus, dating back to the pre-independence struggles, electoral contestation has waged between two main political factions who represent the two main political traditions.

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CHAPTER FOUR ANALYSIS OF LOCAL LEVEL POLITICAL PARTICIPATION AND HOW IT AFFECTS DEMOCRATIC CONSOLIDASATION IN GHANA 4.1 Introduction This chapter presents the analysis of the survey data collected. The survey is aimed at measuring public choices in the elections opinions and attitudes with respect to political participation and democratic consolidation. Hundred (100) questionnaires were administered. The analysis is divided into six (6) sections. Section one is the demographic profile of the respondents. Section two is devoted to national political processes (i.e. measuring political participation and assessing democratic consolidation). Section three discussed Local political processes (i.e. local level election participation) .Section four discussed the challenges or problems affecting local political participation. Section five also did comparative assessment of democratization at national and local levels (i.e. how local level participation affects democratic consolidation) in Ghana. The final section examined the implication of the findings for Democratic Consolidation in Ghana.

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4.2 DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE OF RESPONDENTS 4.2.1 Age Distribution The sample distribution covered a wide spectrum of the different age groups from 18 and above. This is based on the universal adult suffrage principle of eligible registered voters of 18 years and above. The inclusion of the various age groups was in ensuring that the responses and the respondent’s views reflected the broad spectrum of the population. Table 4: Age Distribution Cohort

Frequency

Percentage

18-25

13

13

26-30

10

10

31-40

22

22

41-50

31

31

51-60

20

20

61 and above

3

3

Total

100

100

Source: Field Survey, 2011.

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4.2.2 Educational Attainment The level of education has important bearing on individuals understanding of political issues, perception and the choices they make. It was important therefore to establish the educational attainment of the respondents. In the constituency, 6% of the respondents had no formal education 44% had basic education. 32% attended secondary, technical or teacher training college and 18% had tertiary education. It can be concluded that majority of the respondents were literate and could probably understand political issues. 4.2.3 Occupational Background In Ghana as elsewhere, high educational attainment attracts employment in the professional, managerial and public service sphere. The number of those who said they were unemployed, farmers, artisans, petty traders and so on commensurate with those who declared that they had no formal education or finished up to primary school or middle school or junior secondary school. This is illustrated below.

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Table 5: Occupational Background of Respondents Occupation

Frequency

Percentage

Unemployed

7

7

Teaching

6

6

Business

31

31

Farming

36

36

Artisan

3

3

Public Servant

5

5

Student

12

12

Total

100

100

Source: Field Survey February, 2011. 4.3 NATIONAL POLITICAL PROCESSES 4.3.1 Measuring Political Participation Political participation in Ghana since 1992 has occurred within the framework of multi-party democracy; hence the “level of democratic processes” at the local level is important to determine political participation and democratic consolidation linkage. For a decade now, Ghana under the Fourth Republican Constitutional Democracy has enjoyed peaceful and progressive democratic governance. Inspite, of challenges and nerve – racking moments of minor violence, confusion and tensions, the journey has been manageable and profitable in terms of development, prestige, growth and trust among the citizenry and international community.

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In measuring political participation therefore, the following modes of participation were used voting, campaign work, campaign contribution, membership of a local party executive, membership of civil society organizations and membership of political party. 4.3.1.1 Voting Voting is one of the most important indicators of political participation. The right to choose freely the representatives of the people through voting is the most fundamental right endowed to the people or citizens in a liberal democratic state. According to William Riker, 1988 cited in Janda et al (2000:200) writes: “Democrats of all persuasions would probably agree that political participation built on the act of voting is the focus of democracy.” Citizens who take part in electoral activities can take part in either general elections or in district assembly elections or both with the exception of two respondents who were not registered voters in the constituency, all the other respondents were registered voters. All the 100 respondents interviewed, 42 said they voted in 1992, 1996 and 2000 General Elections while all of them voted 2004 and 2008 elections. Of the 58 who did not vote in the previous elections before 2004 gave reasons for not voting such as travelled, lost of voter identity cards, were not up to voter age of 18 years inter alia. 4.3.1.2 Campaign Work In assessing the involvement of the respondents in the campaign activities, 45 indicated their involvement in party activities in the news media, rallies organized by their parties and other activities such as “foot-soldiers” (grassroots support based) who conducts house to house campaigns for their respective parties. Significantly, these activities have optimistic views 83

about party politics and regard democracy as the most orderly and legitimate form of governance which allows rule of law and good governance as compared to military rules. But many of these respondents (55) are not registered members of political parties (see table 6). They reported that they are not registered members of political parties because they do not like party politics. This explanation reinforces the view held by some Ghanaians about politics as being a ‘dirty game’. When respondents were asked what they think about politics in Ghana today 50% replied that it has improved good governance (see table 7). It shows that a growing number of people no longer view politics in terms of being a ‘dirty game’. This notwithstanding, some of the respondents still have negative views about politics such as “it is a dirty game” (25%) “It has brought division among Ghanaians” (15%) “It has enriched a few people” (10%) and such perceptions detrimental to the drive towards democratic maturity as they could induce cynicism about multi-party politics among the people. Table 6: Membership of political parties Responses

Frequency

Percentage

Yes

45

45

No

55

55

Total

100

100

Source: Field Survey, February 201. Table 7: Opinion on party politics in Ghana today Response Frequency

Percentage

It is a dirty game

25

25

It had improved the quality of living of Ghanaians

50

50

84

It has brought division among Ghanaians

15

15

It enriched a few people

10

10

Total

100

100

Source: Field Survey, February 2010. Also, response to the question on whether, they volunteer to campaign for the parties or they are able to attend party rallies, in all 25% respondents indicated that they never attended political rallies, while 85% said they attended some political rallies (see table 8), even though, the number of those who attended rallies is higher than those who did not, this should not conceal the fact that there is a lot of apathy towards political campaign work on the past of respondents. The data shows that all the 100 respondents followed the activities of political parties. Table 8: Attendance at Political Rallies Response

Frequency

Percentage

Yes

85

85

No

25

25

Total

100

100

Source: Field Survey, February 2011. The main reason that runs through was that, people follow political activities to assess government policies and that of their parties and this would serve as the sine quo non of their decisions in the next general elections.

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4.3.1.3 Campaign Contribution Given the poverty in the rural areas and the inability of the parties to encourage members to pay their subscription, it is not surprising that 55% of the respondents did not contribute financially to the running of their parties (see table 9). The sources of funding for political parties are a closely guarded secret, despite the provision of the political parties (Act 574, 2000) which restricts funding to only citizens and lay down strict rules for transparency and accountability. Table 9: Contribution towards Party Activities Response

Frequency

Percentage

Yes

45

45

No

55

55

Indifferent

0

0

Total

100

100

Source: Field Survey, February 2011. The above analysis shows that people believe in the cliché that “money is politics and politics is money” if therefore their parties had adequate financial resources they could do well in elections. But, those who said they do not contribute financially to their parties gave reasons such as not being registered members of political party inter-alia.

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4.3.1.4 Party’s Executive Position Participation in politics at the local level is an important training experience for aspiring leaders and is good for democratic consolidation. Accordingly, the respondents were asked whether they were members of a local party club or whether they were interested in their party’s executive position. From the survey, 90% of the respondents were not members of the local party clubs, while 10% positions such as treasurer, organizing secretary, deputy organizing, constituency youth organizer and members of youth committee. (see table 10). Equally significant is that the majority of the respondents were not interested in holding leadership positions in their parties. The main reason is that they do not want full time politics (see table 11) or they lack resources such as time, money and civic skills. This notwithstanding, those who were interested in holding leadership positions pointed out that they did so because of the love they have for their parties (see table 12). Table 10: Interest in Holding Leadership Position in Party Response

Frequency

Percentage

Yes

10

10

No

90

90

Indifferent

0

0

Total

100

100

Source: Field Survey, February 2011. The above confirmed that CDD report in 2002 that 70.8% of Ghanaians are passive towards holding political party positions, which could suggest that many people do not want full time

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politics. Therefore the 10% held positions from the data may be described as the party faithful. Table 11: Reasons for not Interested in Party Position Response

Frequency

Percentage

Do not want full time politics

80

80

I did not have time

8

8

Lack of resources

2

2

Politics is a dirty game

10

10

Other

0

0

Total

100

100

Source: Field Survey, February 2011 Table 12: Reasons for Taking Party Position Response

Frequency

Percentage

To contribute my quota towards national development

0

0

Because of the love for my party

10

10

Do not full time politics

90

90

Other

0

0

Total

100

100

Source: Field Survey, February 2011. 4.3.1.5 Membership of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) Civil Society organizations play a very important role in democratic consolidation. They facilitate political and social interaction by mobilizing various social groups to participate in economic, social and political activities and thereby determine development policy. The 88

survey shows that about 65% of the respondents belong to one or more C S Os, including religious bodies,’ town/village development associations, youth associations or clubs, professional associations, as well as business associations such as farmers, traders and transport unions (see table 13). Table 13: Membership of CSO’s Response

Frequency

Percentage

Religious bodies

10

10

Town/village development committees

30

30

Youth associations

20

20

Business associations

5

5

No associations

35

35

Total

100

100

Source: Field Survey, February 2011. The high participation rate of the respondents in CSOs rather contrasts with the relatively low participation of the respondents in the activities of “keep fit” clubs formed by political parties in the constituency. In spite of this, the “keep fit” clubs remain a potent force for political mobilization. 4.3.2 Assessing Democratic Consolidation In the modern political lexicon, elections have identified as the very heart of democracy. Schumpeter (1947) in his book, ‘Socialism, Capitalism and Democracy’ described “democracy as an institutional arrangement for filing public office by a competitive struggle for the people’s votes. However, as Linz and Stepan (1997:15) have suggested a consolidate democracy should refer to a political regime in which democracy as a complex system of 89

institutions, rules and patterned incentives and disincentives has become as they termed it the “only game in town,” behaviourally, attitudinally and constitutionally.

But, Schedler

(1998:91) has argued that the term democratic consolidation has acquired a confusing array of meanings. In his view, “the differences in understanding the term reflect in part the differences in the point actually reached in the democratization process under review and in part due more to normative preferences. “The term has broadened in scope to encompass the deeper requirement for what democracy should entail, beside the simplistic mechanistic tests such as whether a country has experienced two successive and relatively peaceful transfer of power. Schumpeter maintains that ‘democracy means only that people who have the opportunity of accepting or refusing the men and women who are to rule them.” Also, Drah (2003:125) echoes a similar sentiment. He writes “since the inauguration of the Fourth Republic Constitutional Democracy, segments of civil society have against all odds, been deeply involved in the democratic governance-building process in many ways including the encouragement of the citizens to participate effectively in national election.” Clearly, Ghana has made tremendous progress in democratic journey, but democracy is a process and therefore a lot needs to be done.

There is therefore the need for regular

assessment of how the country has sustained its commitment to the norms and practice of democracy. This section assesses democratic consolidation on the basis of the performance, of democratic institution, the legitimacy of the outcome of the elections; knowledge on electoral issues (political culture) and assessment of Ghanaian economy.

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4.3.2.1 Performance of Democratic Institutions Democratization simply meant the process of replacing the institutions and culture of a civilian or military dictatorship with those of democracy. In the literature, two broad stages of the process have been identified. The first stage which is generally short-lived has to do with the transition from a dictatorship to a civilian government formed through multi-party elections under a democratic constitution. The later outlines the formal institutions that must be established together with the norms that should be observed. The second stage is what is termed democratic consolidation.

Put in different words, the majority of the citizens

including the political leadership especially must “believe at a minimum that democracy is the least bad form of government” for their society and themselves. (Huntington 1993: 2425). This simply put is the practice whereby the formal institutions and norms of democracy attain widespread acceptance and thereby become entrenched as the preferred system for conducting public affairs. The performance of democratic institutions is therefore a key to democratic consolidation, because it generates trust and confidence among the electorate. For democracy to be consolidated and enhanced it is not sufficient to establish institutions but such institutions should also perform their roles to the satisfaction of the citizens. The institutions should also ensure that the citizens understood and appreciate the work they do. Since the returned to constitutional democracy in 1992, the creation and development of democratic institutions have been integral to the democratization process. It is against this background that the respondents were asked to assess the performance of these institutions as Ghana drive towards democratic consolidation.

Accordingly, the surveys asked the

respondents their views on the performance of the executive, legislature, judiciary, electoral commission and political parties.

The responses were encouraging as majority of the 91

respondents replied that they are aware of such institutions. For instance, as many as 65% of the respondents expressed satisfaction of the performance of parliament in enhancing democracy in Ghana.

In the survey analysis, respondents gave reasons indentified

performance of parliament as keeping government on its tones, ratifying treaties, passing bills, checking corruption through public accounts committee inter-alia. Other respondents also indicated that the judiciary allows due process of the law under liberal democracy and protects the rights of the minority.

On the performance of the executive, 58% of the

respondents said, the respondents thought that the Electoral Commission and its district officers have performed well; that they are independent of government control and have been fair to all political parties. This assessment is consistent with conclusions from the studies conducted on the 1996, 2000, 2004 and 2008 elections and the performance of Electoral Commission and Mass Media.

This shows the level of confidence in the Electoral

Commission and Mass Media as institutions

of legitimacy of election outcomes in the

country. The respondents indicated the significant role the media, particularly the electronic media played in the 2008 general elections.

In sum, the survey data shows that both

electronic and print media contributes significantly to success story of Ghana’s democratic development. This is because 58% of the respondents said, the electronic media particularly helped in the conduct of elections in Ghana through public education. They indicated Newspaper review on radio and television stations as one example of the role mass media play in democratic development. It is clear from all these responses that the quality of democracy has improved over the years. To confirm this majority of the respondents thought that Ghana can be described as a democratic country today and indicated high level of satisfaction with Ghana’s democratic development since 1992. 92

Table 14a: State of Democracy in Ghana Today. Response

Frequency

Percentage

Yes

85

85

No

10

10

Indifferent

5

5

Total

100

100

Source: Field Survey, February 2011 The analysis shows that democratic politics has habituated in the minds of Ghanaians. It is therefore plausible to postulate that the Ghana’s drive towards democratic consolidation can be achieved. Table 14b: Level of Satisfaction with Ghana’s Democracy. Response Frequency

Percentage

10

85

85

8 and 9

10

10

5 and 6

5

5

Total

100

100

Source: Field Survey, February 2011 Still on Ghana’s democratic development, respondents were asked to indicate their level of satisfaction on the scale of 1-10 (one being the lowest and ten being the maximum). As many as 85% of the respondents were satisfied with Ghana’s democratic development. The conclusion from the analysis is that Ghana’s democracy has improved over the past 19 years since the country’s transition from military regime to constitutional democracy in 1992 with inauguration of first elected government under the Fourth Republic Constitution on 7th 93

January, 1993. The respondents gave several reasons to backed their responses including the following; peaceful elections, peace and stability in the country, acceptance of people verdict by all political contestants, strong media, and freedom of speech, political pluralism, political tolerance, and protection of people’s rights violation, Constitution accepted by all Ghanaians, inter lia. 4.3.2.2 Knowledge of Electoral Issues If Ghana’s renewed effort at democracy is to succeed, then the elections and electoral process must be situated within a particular political culture. Citizens must develop interest in politics and feel inclined to participate in political activities. In addition, they must have a positive evaluation of their own political efficacy as well as the politically “correct” attitude towards political system. This is because democratic consolidation depends on the citizens understanding of electoral issues and their voting freely according to their preferences needs and interests. The people of Sissala West Constituency may be described as moderately interested in political activities. It emerged from the survey that majority of the respondents show ‘moderate interest’ about 79%, but few indicated “very interested” (13%). In sum, the data shows that the moderately high interest in politics and the extensive political participation among the people in the constituency is underpinned by a rich participant political culture. The people show a modestly positive attitude towards their political system and exclude a very high confidence in their own ability to make a difference in the country’s politics. There appears to be growing in Ghana a participant political institutions of Ghana’s democracy and growing confidence in their own political efficacy and political institutions.

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4.3.2.3 Economy and Democratic Consolidation in Ghana Liberal democratic theorists particularly those who operate within the framework of Gross National Statistical Studies often argue that economic development or affluence is a condition for sustaining democracy (Lipset 1980,). Thus, Lipset noted in his classic political sociology paper linking democracy to socio-economic development that “the more well-todo, it will sustain democracy: (Lipset 1980:31).

But, there is always tension between

democracy and economic development. It has been argued that, democracy could impact positively on poverty reduction but others are of the opinion that democracy per se cannot reduce poverty. Makau Mutua (2000:14) strongly argues that;...”the most serious threat to democracy and civil society reform remains, however in the impoverished economies of African States. Democracy will not take root in Africa if the majority of its population continues to live in abject poverty. Africans support democracy because they expect it to reverse decades of corruption, mismanagement and economic hardships” As articulated by Salim Ahmed Salim; former General Secretary of OAU (1993:3);… “Poverty brings about instability and insecurity, which breeds underdevelopment, the reverse is true. Governance and democracy or the respect for human rights cannot thrive on empty stomachs. In particular, democracy must deliver on bread and butter issues, otherwise, democratic transitions will be reversed and the continent will slide back into situations where the politics of poverty gives rise to the poverty of policies on the continent” The generally accepted position is that poor economic performance undermines attitudes and behaviours that are essential for democratic consolidation. In other words, mass economic deprivation and aggravated inequalities in wealth distribution can undermined democratic 95

consolidation. While there is no disputing fact that democracy is not an automatic panacea to socio-economic development, it is equally true that it is the basis for equitable distribution of programmes and project. Table 15: Respondents Perception of the National Economy Response

Frequency

Percentage

Positively

40

40

Negatively

55

55

Indifferent

5

5

100

100

Total Source: Field Survey, February 2011.

The majority of the respondents however indicated that the democratic gains do not commensurate with the improvement of the economy. As many as 55% of the respondents said that the economy under democratic dispensation affects them negatively. But few still said the economy development is positive or indifferent.

Also, whether the current

democratic order adequately caters for the poor in the society, the respondents had different views. Again 55% said the situation is indifferent (i.e. they do not know whether living conditions improves or not).

Reasons such as resources are not equitable distributed;

politicians take advantage of the poor to win elections and amass wealth and so their living conditions are worst. (see table 16).

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Table 16: Liberal Democracy and Living Conditions Response

Frequency

Percentage

Indifferent

55

55

Positive

35

35

Negative

10

10

Total

100

100

Source: Field Survey, February 2011. some major economic problems in Ghana were mentioned by the respondents during the survey as unemployment and rampant increase in prices of petroleum products were identified as economic problems confronting them in the constituency.

Some however

indicate high interest rates, depreciation of cedi, inflation and lack of private investment in the constituency.

It can therefore be deduced from the survey that the respondent’s

perception of the economy was rather mixed indicating that there is the need for improvement in the economy to enable people have greater confidence in democratic governance. Finally, the respondent’s views were also sought to identify whether the economic situation affects their voting behavior.

It was rather interesting to note that

Ghanaians see voting as a political right and thus there is no relationship between voting and economy according to the survey analysis. Literature suggests that political factors intimately interact with economic factors in the context of democratic consolidation. This classical starting point for the link between economic growth and democracy was the early work of Seymour Martin Lipset (1959).Thus, Lipset’s famous dictum “the better to do a nation, the greater it will sustain democracy”. However, he did not propose that democracy is inevitable result of a certain level of socio-economic development. This view was confirmed by Kiloh 97

1997; cited in Hayness Jeff (2001), said “there is no relationship between socio-economic modernization and the development of liberal democracy” (see table 17 a,b) below. Table 17a: Relationship between Democracy and Socio-Economic Conditions Response

Frequency

Percentage

Voting as political right

65

65

Ability to meet cost of Education

0

0

Ability to meet cost of health

5

5

Ability to meet economic commitment

10

10

20

20

100

100

Voting as a representative

decision

making

to

elect

Total

Source: Field Survey, February 2011. As to whether the economic situation affects the acceptance of democracy by Ghanaians, the study revealed that people simple saw democracy as election and voting as a political right. This again confirmed the Minimalist Conception of Democracy as ‘electoralism’ (Schumpter, (1947, Dahl, 1989, Huntington, 1991, O’Donnell, 1996 and Diamond, 1996;1997). Table 17b: Socio-Economic Factors and Acceptance of Democracy Response

Frequency

Percentage

Yes

30

30

No

65

65

Indifferent

5

5

100

100

Total Source: Field Survey, February 2011. 98

In sum, from the analysis, the respondents generally believed that democracy is not necessarily economic development but rather as means to development and of course to elect political leaders to administer the affairs of the state and are accountable to the people every four years for their stewardship. 4.4 LOCAL LEVEL POLITICAL PROCESSES The prospect for democratic consolidation is a function of the extent to which democratic processes are deeply ingrained at the local level of the national polity. Unfortunately in Ghana, the efforts at democratic consolidation are centered on political processes at the national level, constantly affirming the interest of the political elites. But, according to Van de Walle 1997:217), a major index of sustainability of democratic consolidation is the extent to which political power is decentralized to the local level of the national polity. Particularly in the Ghanaian democratic system, the local convex has so much affinity with the national processes that one can hardly discern the outcome of the national democratic processes without a firm grasp of the local context. This is particularly so because the institutional arrangements made under the country’s Fourth Republic Constitution place so much responsibility and attention on local political processes. Therefore, to ascertain the sustainability of democracy in the country, there is the need to determine how citizens perceive local political processes and the level of significance attached to the processes. The survey therefore seeks the respondents’ opinions on the following with respect to local politics including; Participation (i.e. local election process, political discourse and community action), problems of democratic processes at the local level and assessment of national and local political processes.

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4.4.1 Participation in Local Government Elections Political participation refers to various ways in which citizens take part in politics. The general level of participation in a society is the extent to which the people as a whole are committed to political activity. In this case, the respondents were asked whether they vote in the local elections and also their opinion about local level elections. 55% of the respondents said they always vote in local elections and thought that local elections serve as the springboard for Ghana’s democracy. This is because the bulk of the citizens live in the rural areas and their involvement in political processes is cardinal to democratic development. However, the 45% of the respondents who did not vote said they are not always aware of such elections and made particular reference to 2010 District elections, the date of the election was not certain to them (see table 16). Table 18: Voting in the Local Elections Response

Frequency

Percentage

Yes

55

100

No

45

0

Total

100

100

Source: Field survey, February 2011.

4.4.2 Participation in Political Discourse The focus here was to seek the respondents’ opinion on the level of people’s involvement in the political decision processes at the grassroots level. Until fairly recently, most scholars have concluded that voters in Africa are primarily influenced by primordial factors in their choice and hastily added that the rural voter made irrational political decisions 100

(Chazan,1983). The survey sought to unravel the degree of political awareness, which constitute the basis for their decisions are made. As many as 75% of the respondent thought that local governance offer the opportunity for people to be part of governmental processes through assembly and so are cardinal to the democratic project (see table 19 a,). They indicated their involvement in the unit Committee and some are assemblymen/women elected and others ex-assembly person (see table 19 b). Table 19a: Opinion about Local Political Processes Response

Frequency

Percentage

It offers opportunity for people to be part of governmental process

75

75

It is the basic unit of National Government

10

10

Election of Local Representatives

15

15

Total

100

100

Source: Field Survey, February 2011 Table 19 b: Active Involvement in Local Politics Response

Frequency

Percentage

Yes

57

75

No

25

25

Total

100

100

Source: Field Survey, February 2011. 4.4.3 Community Action The local issues in the constituency coalesced around pertinent development concern. Contacting local and national officers concerning local development issues is yet another 101

mode of political participation at the local level. As many as 65% of the respondents indicated that they always contact assembly persons in their respective electoral areas and Member of Parliament for reasons such as school fees for their wards, electricity to their villages, bad road to their areas and lack of markets, school construction, borehole and many others. However, 35% also said they do not contact them because they were elected on the platform to solve these local problems and so if they fail to deliver on their promise, the electorate would simply show them exit in the next elections (see table 20 ) below. Table 20: Community Action Response

Frequency

Percentage

Yes

65

75

No

35

25

Total

100

100

Source: Field Survey, February 2011 It can be concluded from the analysis that large number of people get involved in voting exercise reinforces the people’s active participation in politics at both local and national elections, confirming CDD- 2003 cited in Boafo-Authur Kwame (ed. 2006), reports that though as many as 70.8% of Ghanaian are not registered members of political parties, they however see political parties, they however see political participation as a basic civic responsibility to elect their representatives. The situation is therefore not different in the Sissala West Constituency. Even though 55% respondents said they are not registered members of a political party. All the 100 respondents interviewed, 98% said they are registered voters as at 2010, except two respondents who said they were not in the country 102

for the last ten years and however indicated to register as voters when the voter registration is opened next year (2012). But all the 100 respondents said they follow political issues in the country, this gave them the opportunity to follow the activities of the government and that will inform their decision in the next general elections. The results thus, confirmed Ghana’s democratic credentials and thus become beacon of African’s democracy. 4.5.STRUCTURAL IMPEDIMENTS TO POLITICAL PARTICIPATION AT THE LOCAL LEVEL It is clear therefore that the poor patronage and attention given to local political process is attributable to the elitist orientation of the political and bureaucratic elite who have constructed local politics as “low politics.” The fact that local elections are organized on non-partisan basis (Constitution of Ghana 1992:288:1) is further testimony to the low esteem accorded local political processes. These elapses are reflected in the generally low level of participation in local elections compared to what pertains in national elections, voter turn-out in national elections since 1992 has average of over 70% while in the local elections is as low as 30%. The field survey revealed the following structural impediments people involvement in the local level elections; 4.5.1 Voter apathy Despite the importance of district assemble system to elect assemble members, have not generated any thing near the kind of interest among the populace that general elections have typically done over the years. The apathy can be attributed to the following factors from the survey analysis; 103

First, local elections are required by law to be non-partisan in nature thus the activities of the political parties are absent, at least on the surface. If the enthusiasm that national elections attracts and vigorous campaigning is anything to go by, then it is little wonder that the absence of these generates little excitement among the electorates Secondly, the preparation that invested into national elections including funds and advertising go a long way to put the elections on the map and whip up the public in them. The type of media attention that local government elections receive is nothing compared to that accorded the general elections. For instance in the just ended 2010 local elections, the publicity was lukewarm. Thirdly, the assemblies have not succeeded in winning the confidence of the electorate in the communities because of the failure of the assemble men and women to engage them with them on a regular basis. This usually translates into the inability of district assemblies to satisfy the needs and aspirations of the citizens. There is thus, a growing disconnection between assembly members and citizens. Finally, people attitudes towards assemblies as well as the assemblymen and women contribute to low interest in the local elections. Many do no even know their assemble members having not participated electing them. 4.5.2 Poor local election management The contribution of civil society to the national elections rather stands in stark contrast to its contribution to local level elections. As Drah (2003) notes, “civil society in Ghana still remains an urban phenomenon.” Clearly, therefore the intense commitment in the 104

management of political processes at the national level contrasts sharply with their ineffectiveness and lackadaisical commitment towards local political processes and explains the variations in democratic gains at the two levels. 4.5.3 Challenge of election postponement The survey reveals that people were faced with the challenges posed by the postponement of the 2010 District level elections occasioned by the need to amend several laws governing local government. The 2010 local level elections originally slated to take place in 26th, October 2010 was scheduled on 28th December, 2010.

The benefits of the new laws

notwithstanding the uncertainty surrounding the elections prior to the declaration of the new election could have the effect of discouraging people from participating in the polls. The CDD (2003), reported that the 2002 elections cited Boafo-Authur Kwame (ed 2006), was also postponed, hence the low percentage turn out of 33.3% in the 2002 local government elections. 4.6 Local Level Political Participation towards Democratic Consolidation The magnitude of attention that characterized national political processes has already been noted. The analysis shows an indication of high level of attachment placed on national political process by political elite. However, Oluwu (1999:286) noted that, “if government is to be effective and democratic, it must be local. It therefore means that, denigrating local political process has serious consequences for the overall project of democratic consolidation.

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It is in the light of the importance of relationship between political processes at the local and national levels that the thesis focused attention to the gap between the democratization efforts a these two levels as an important benchmark for prediction the prospects of democratic consolidation in Ghana. This is because, the prospect for democratic consolidation is a function of the extent to which democratic processes are deeply ingrained in the local processes. Sheider (1999), notion of social construction is useful of explaining the contrasting political elite behavior and attitude towards political processes at national and local levels. He argued that, the attention that as society accords a group or an event oriented to a social group, depends upon how that society especially its political and bureaucratic elite perceive the group or event as significant and worthy of supreme attention. Putting this differently, the elite construction of an event, issue or a phenomenon determines the level of its commitment to the same. The literature reviewed shows that the objective of building democracy in Ghana in a bottom-up approach has not been successful because of the low level of commitment in terms of resources commitment, capacity building and lack of complete political devolution to ensuring effective governance at the local level. This is a regrettable outcome of effort made in building grassroots democracy in Ghana since the early 1980s. It reflects the low esteem in which the political and bureaucratic elite accords local political processes. It is therefore not an exaggeration to conclude that, the elite perceived local political participation in the district elections for instance as the pathology of the rural folk.

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To confirmed this, literature review shows, voter turn-out in national elections since 1992 has average of over 70% while in the local elections is as low as 29%. The phenomenon in the Sissala West Constituency is akin to national level. The data collected from the survey indicated whereas 100 respondents said they vote in the general elections, 55 respondents (5%) vote in the local elections and 45% of the respondents also said they are not always aware of such elections and emphasized unlike the general elections, very Ghanaian know is 7th December every four years and apart from this, political campaigns remind them of the elections. However, apart from voting in the local elections, the respondent’ opinion and the level of significance attachment to national and local political processes were sought. This is because; the available data indicated that general elections have been recording an average percentage turn-out of over 70% since 1992, the highest in 2004 with a percentage turn-out of (85.12%). This level of political participation was confirmed by the survey data. (i.e. as many as 85% of the respondents at the grassroots levels accepted democracy and committed to competitive elections and satisfied with the democratic experiment so far from the survey analysis). The results therefore confirmed that there is a relationship between the level of political participation at the grassroots level and democratic consolidation and thus reinforce and affect democratic consolidation at the national level. In sum, from such a slippery start, Ghana has made strides in electoral politics since 1992. This is because the country has held five (5) relatively peaceful and generally acceptable elections, two of which (2000&20008) led to the alternation of power. Above all, from low voter turn-out of 29% and 50.2% in Parliamentary and Presidential elections respectively, the 107

electoral process has been recording between60% and 80% voter turn-out, an indication of mass political participation.

The positive development showed in 1996 recording a

percentage turn-out of 78.2% and has continued. The general mood after the 1996 General Elections conformed the fact that the contending political leaders and citizens of the polity generally had endorsed the basic rules of electoral policies of changing political leadership under constitutional democracy. Thus, the forgoing is ample evidence that as far as national political processes are concerned, the overall commitment of the major political actors and institutions is indisputable, this healthy development of Ghana’s democratic practice is replicated at the grassroots were the bulk of the citizens in the polity live. This is because as many as 85% of the respondents at the grassroots levels accepted democracy and committed to competitive elections and satisfied with the democratic experiment so far from the survey analysis. 4. 7 Implication of the findings for Democratic Consolidation This Section highlights on the lessons from the study and their implications for electoral politics in Ghana.

The concept of democratic consolidation defies clear-cut definition.

Indeed in the words of Schedler (1998), there are many different views and definitions of democratic consolidation and that the concept has expanded beyond all recognition. He said, consolidating democracy include such divergent items as follows; Popular legitimation, the diffusion actors, fusion of democratic values, the neutralization of ant-system, civilian supremacy over the military, elimination of authoritarian enclaves, party building, the 108

organization of functional interest, the stabilization of electoral rules, the routinisation of politics, the decentralization of state power, the introduction of mechanisms of direct democracy, the judicial reforms, the alleviation of poverty and economic stabilization (Schedler, 1998). But, there seemed to be some consensus on two features of democratic consolidation: 1.The first is the widespread acceptance of the general principles of democratic competition (i.e. electoral processes). For Gunther et al 1986, cited in (Schedler, 1998).a democratic regime is consolidated when all politically significant groups regard its key political institutions as the only legitimate framework for political contestation and adhere to the democratic rules of the game. But, according to Burton et.al 1995, also cited in (Schedler, 1998), consolidation denotes the condition of a political system in which all major political actors and social groups expect the government leaders will be chosen through competitive elections and regard representative institutions and procedures as their main channel for pressing claims on the state. 2. The second is the Mass acceptance of democracy in particular the degree to which the population is satisfied with democracy. Many believe that satisfaction with the democratic experience promotes a greater commitment to democracy and hence, signifies an important trend towards democratic consolidation. Indeed, Gunther e.al (1986), acknowledges that widespread support for and satisfaction with democracy may be an important and necessary condition, particularly in existence will be democratic. In the words of Diamond (1993: 15) consolidation is the “process by which democracy becomes so broadly and profoundly legitimate among its citizens that it is very unlikely to 109

breakdown. It involves behavioural and institutional changes that normalize democratic politics and narrows its uncertainty. This normalization requires the expansion of citizen’s access, development of democratic citizenship and culture, broadening of leadership recruitment and training and other functions that civil Society performs. But most of all, and most urgently, it requires political institutionalization.” However, by itself, widespread support for democracy undervalues or ignores the importance of the absence of fundamental disputes among politically significant groups over the acceptability of the basic framework for political contestation, and what this implies for democratic stability, predictability and ultimately sustainability (Prezeworski et.al, 1996). Therefore, it is not a sufficient condition for the onset of democratic consolidation. This notwithstanding, although widespread support of democracy may not by itself be a sufficient condition for democratic consolidation, certainly it is recognized as a contributory factor. The findings show the participatory level of about 85% at the local level as most, if not all, as many as 85% respondents accepted democracy and committed to competitive elections and satisfied with the democratic experiment so far, this phenomenon of people involvement in politics at Sissala West Constituency is typical case of all 230 Constituencies in Ghana. This, no doubt, augurs well for the future of democratic consolidation in Ghana.

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CHAPTER FIVE SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMEDATIONS 5.1 Introduction In an attempt to find out whether the democratic process in Ghana is on course on account of the successful five consecutive elections, variegated conceptions of democracy are confronted with. In the first place, the democratic process in Ghana is instantly confronted with O’Donnell’s Minimalist conception of democracy (O’Donnell, 1996) which is also referred to as electoral democracies by Diamond (1997). The minimalist conception of democracy emphasized the mere procedural aspects of democracy especially free and competitive elections. For Prezeworski al (1996), the minimalist conception of democracy does not deviate markedly from Robert A. Dahl’s (1989), ‘Polyarchy’ by which a regime is democratic if it holds elections that give the opposition to win at one time or the other, for Samuel P. Huntington (1991) democracy is said to be consolidated when a polity passes the ‘two-turn over test’. That is, a government loses an election, the opposition wins it and then, next time, loses it so that a new government from the opposition is formed. In the contest of Dahl’s Polyarchy and Huntington, Ghana’s democratization process is on course because there was an unprecedented change of government through the ballot box in the 2000 and 2008 General Elections. However free and fair elections do not imply qualitative progression on the democracy scale. In practice, electoral democracies lack many of the characteristics of liberal democracy even though they might emerge from reasonably free and fair elections. As Diamond (1997: 13) argues, because such democracies do not 111

move beyond a certain level of constitutionalism legality participation and freedom that are normal features of political process, they commit the “fallacy of electoralism”. By implication, the procedural democratic practice of elections is the main characteristic of such democracies political leaders are concerned about the violations of human rights. What could be deduced from the summary of the basic conceptions of democracy is that whether it is liberal democracy in its Western connotation or minimalist or electoral democracy as found in many developing countries, democratic norms cannot be compromised. At the barest minimum, there must be free and fair elections and substantial guarantees for the liberties of the citizens. A critical look at the trajectory of Ghana’s democratic development since January 1993 shows clearly that even though much progress has been made in the direction of liberal democracy what is being practiced does not feature liberal democracy proposed by Huntington in 1991. Nonetheless there has been qualitative improvement in the mode of democratic governance to encourage a positive discussion of what has transpired so far. This also inspires the necessary conviction for one to predict a positive democratic future for the nation albeit with challenges that must be dealt with. 5.2 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS The field survey and analysis of democratic dispensation of the Fourth Republican Constitutional Democracy point to interesting developments on Ghana’s political landscape. The conclusion is that if the current trend in democratic governance is strengthened, democracy as a form of government will be sustainable. The following are the major findings from the study.

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5.2.1 National Political Processes 1. It emerged from the study that 98% of the respondents are registered voters. 42% of them voted in all the five general elections in Ghana and 58% voted in 2994 and 2008 elections. This could explain appreciable level of political participation in Ghana. 2. Very few Ghanaians are registered or card carrying members of political parties. 45% of the respondents are registered members of political parties. This could also suggest that although Ghanaians are politically active and follow political activities which culminated in the very high turnover at the polls, many Ghanaians are politically active only when elections are around the corner. 3. Democracy in Ghana is said to have been improved by 87% of the respondents and 85% thought that Ghana can be described as a democratic country and therefore satisfied with the democratic practice so far. 4. The results also confirmed that, Ghanaians are generally interested in democratic politics. This was revealed by the survey results as 79% of the respondents expressed involvement in politics. 5. Democratic ethos is in danger of being undermined by capacity, incentive, and power gabs as a result of weak institutions, elite dominance and neo-patrimonial tendencies in the body politics (CDD, 2003) and this was confirmed by survey analysis. 6. It was clear that Ghana’s democracy has come of age and voters make very good assessment of the democratic institutions such as Electoral Commission and the Mass Media. The respondents gave high approval rating to the media. Before, during and after 113

elections citizens were constantly informed of the state of affairs in the country by both the print and electronic media. Democracy grows deeper when there is constant and quality communication and information on what is going on in the political system. 7. There is no relationship between socio-economic conditions and democratic consolidation. The respondents views were also sought to identify whether the economic situation affects their voting behavior. It was rather interesting to note that Ghanaians see voting as a political right and thus there is no relationship between voting and economic conditions according to the survey analysis. 8. As to whether the economic situation affects the acceptance of democracy by Ghanaians, the study revealed that people simply saw democracy as election and voting as a political right. This again confirmed the Minimalist Conception of Democracy as ‘electoralism’ (Schumpeter, 1947, Dahl, 1989, Huntington, 1991, O’Donnell, 1996 and Diamond,1997). 5.2.2 Local Political Processes 9. It was also revealed from the study that there is a relationship between Local and National political processes as 55% of the respondents expressed that local political processes serves as springboard for democratic consolidation and thus attached significance to the process. 10. However, the 45% of the respondents who did not vote said they are not always aware of such elections and made particular reference to 2010 District elections, the date of the election was not certain to them.

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11. During the survey, 75% of the respondent thought that local governance offer the opportunity for people to be part of governmental processes through assembly and so are cardinal to the democratic project. They indicated their involvement in the unit Committee and some are assemblymen/women elected and others ex-assembly persons. 12. In the community action participation, 65% of the respondents indicated that they always contact assembly persons in their respective electoral areas and Member of Parliament for reasons such as school fees for their wards, electricity to their villages, bad road to their areas and lack of markets, school construction, borehole and many others. However, 35% of the respondents said they do not contact them because they were elected on the platform to solve these local problems. 13. Finally, the study identified some structural impediments to local political participation as Voter apathy among the people, poor local election management and the challenge of local level election postponement. In sum the voters were clear on the qualitative growth in democratic governance in the country. The survey made it very clear that citizens appreciate the current democratic political environment; including the rule f law, the independence of the judiciary respect for the fundamental rights of people, etc similarly they gave very high ratings for the electoral system with regard to its fairness and openness.

The electorates in the Sissala West

Constituency generally therefore believed that democracy is not necessarily economic development but rather as means to development and of course to elect political leaders to administer the affairs of the stat and are accountable to the people every four years for their stewardship. 115

5.3 CONCLUSION It can be concluded that Ghana is on a steady course towards democratic maturity. The electoral system continues to undergo refinements and adaptation for the better. The struggle to strengthen democracy is not yet complete. The saliency, vibrancy, and efficiency of democratic institutions are very important. The survey revealed the weakness of some institutions and the low of knowledge by the electorate about some institutions. There is the need for vigilance in nurturing such institutions to avoid a reversal of the process. Such vigilant nurturing should encompass institutions of democracy at both local and national levels. Hawthorn (1996: 24) argued that the move to democracy and its consolidation will turn as much n the particularities of circumstance and on will skill and lick as on any more generalization cause” whatever the particularity of circumstance might be the fact remains that” a polity is democratic to the extent that there exist institutionalized mechanisms thought which the mass of over the political elite in an organized fashion” (Moore 1996:40). The findings of participation in political discourse from the survey are consistent with Electoral Commission voters registered voter population and percentage turn-out in the 2008 general elections (i.e. 12,472,758) and voter turn-out rate of 69.79% and 72.9% on 7th and 28th December, 2008 respectively nationwide and Sissala West Constituency recorded a percentage turn-out of 98.36% (EC, Gwollu 2011). It can therefore be argued that Ghana’s democracy is on course because both the elite and the masses agreed that democracy is the best form of government for this country to a large extent therefore, the forms of control especially elections and free media exist even though there is more to be done to strengthen the institutions that make such controls possible. 116

5.4 RECOMMEDATIONS From the findings of the study, to make democracy a reality in Ghana the following recommendations are essential. 5.4.1 Democratic Consolidation 1. The democratic institutions must be seen as legitimate for people to value democracy. That is democratic institutions must produce leaders worthy of public trust responsibility. This is because consolidated democracy does not only require institutional development but they must be valued by the citizens. 2. There should be citizen participation. Democracy calls for wide spread participation in politics by the people. It is believed to be the duty of all adult citizens to vote in local and national elections. Qualified individuals should be willing to run for public offices to serve on juries and to contribute to the welfare of their country. Citizens should help shape public opinion by speaking out on important issues and by supporting the political party of their choice. An active citizenry is thought to be one of the best guarantees against corrupt and inefficient government. 3. Equal opportunity and access to education.

Fault in the power of education is a

characteristic of democracy. To make a democracy a reality in Ghana there should be equal opportunity and access to education according to democratic ideals wide spread participation in politics does not necessarily ensure good governance. The quality of government depends on the quality of participation. Well informed and well educated citizens are able to participate more intelligently. Democracy needs educated citizens 117

who can think for themselves citizens have the duty to take part in public affairs to keep informed on public issues and to vote intelligently. Democratic institutions must produce leaders worthy of public trust responsibility. For this reason, the government must create equal opportunity and access to education for all. 4. There should also be voluntary participation.

An important quality of democratic

government is its emphasis on trying to get people to act on the basis of understanding, and agreements instead of force.

Although all governments use force, sometimes

democracies usually emphasizes dialogue, negotiation; bargaining and ultimately voluntary citizen cooperation. 5. Economic development and agreement on fundamentals are essential component of democratic consolidation.

Most successful democracies have existed in developed

societies. In such societies, literacy rates are high, per capita income are moderate to high and there are few extremes of wealth and poverty. Democratic governments are likely to be unable and unconsolidated wherever people became deeply sometimes racial ethnic or religious differences make democracies difficult to operate. In such instances, the people may not see one another as legitimate and trustworthy partner in the enterprise of government. Therefore, economic growth at stable and moderate levels of inflations is a key criterion in sustaining democratic regime. 6. The growth of political culture must be linked to the guarantee of justice and equity for the people. Consolidation democracy depends heavily on people’s values and believes within which political action is embedded and given meaning.

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5.4.2 Local Level Political Participation 7. The role of non-state actors. the Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG) in collaboration with a network of civil society organizations called the Civic Forum Initiative (CFI), should engaged in the activities towards changing the attitudes of the public towards the local level elections in order to assist the state in generating greater interest in the local level elections. 8. The non-state actors should collaborate with EC and NCCE while also enlisting the assistance of the media in engaging the attention of the electorate about the importance of the local government elections. 9. If the democracy at the grassroots is to grow, then there should be conscious effort to increase the voices of the marginalized at the local level. 10. The inputs of the media could

greatly influence the attitudes of the public towards

district level elections and help to solve the problem of voter apathy. 11. The EC must have a real say in prioritizing their needs interms of co duct of election and management devoid of political influence and be fully involved in the preparation of election time table to avoid incidents of postponement in future local government elections. 12. Finally, for Ghana’s democracy to smoothly sail into maturity there is the need to redouble efforts at engineering democracy at the grassroots level as the foundation for sustainable democracy in the country.

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Boafo-Arthur, K. (2006). Voting for Democracy in Ghana (Constituency Studies). Accra: Freedom Publication Legon, Ghana. Bollen, K.A. (1979). Political Democracy and Timing of Development. Jai Press, Greenwich CT. Bollen, K.A. and Jackman (1985). Economic Determinants of Political Democracy. Jai Press, Greenwich: CT. Bratton, M. and Van de Walle, N. (1997). Democratic Experiments in African Regime Transitions in Comparative Perspective. Cambridge University Press. Buitenhuijs, R. and Celiene, T. (1995). Democratization in sub-Saharan Africa 1992-1995. An over of literature Leiden, African Studies centre. Chanzan, N. (1983). An Anatomy of Ghanaian Politics. Westview Press. Christian (1998/1999). Comparative Politics. California State University, Long Beach. Republic of Ghana(1992). The 1992 Fourth Republic Constitution of Ghana.

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Assembly press of Ghana Publishing Corporation. Ake, C. (1996). Democracy and Development in Africa. Washington DC: the Brorking Institute. Dahl, R.A (1985). A Preface To Economic Democracy. Berkeley: University of California press. Dahl, R.A. (1989).Democracy and its critics. New Haran and London: Yale University Press. 121

Dahl R.A. (1970). After the Revolution: Authority in Good Society. New Haren and London: Yale University Press, Dahl, R.A. (1971). Polyarchy; Participation and Opposition, New Haren and London: Yale University Press. David, K. (1963). Political History of Ghana. The Rise of Gold Coast nationalism. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Oluwu, D. (1999). Local Governance, Democracy and Development in state, conflict and democracy. Lynne Rienner Diamond, L. (1993). The Globalization of Democracy. Boulder, Lynne Rienner. Diamond, L. (1999). Developing Democracy Towards Consolidation. John Hopking University Press Diamond, L. (1997). Consolidating Democracy

Third Wave Democracy, Themes and

Perspectives. John Hopking University Drah, F.K. (2003). Civil society and Grassroots political participation in Ghana. Department of Political Science, University of Ghana. Ben, E. (2003). Count down to 2004 elections. Published by Allied News Limited PMBCCC 17 cantonments Accra Ghana. Zakaria, F. (1997). The Rise of Illiberal Democracy. Foreign Affairs 76 (6) (page 22-43). Ago Longon Sydney and Toronto. 122

Fukuyama (1992). The end of History and the Last Man. London: Penguin Books, Gyan, A. (1995).The Making of the Fourth Republic Constitution of Ghana. Accra: GoldType Limited. Gyimah-Boadi, E. (1998). The Rebirth of African Liberalism; in the Journal of Democracy 96 (page 18-31). Ghana University Press. Gyimah-Boadi, E. (1999). The Challenge of consolidating Democracy (409-427) in the state, conflict and democracy ed. By Richard Joseph; Lynner Gyimah-Boadi, E. (2001). Democratizing Africa. Ghana University Press, Accra. Gitonga, A.K. (1988). The meaning of Foundations of Democracy; Democratic Theory and Practice. Heinemann, Portsmouth NH. Harris, P.B. (1970).Studies in Africa Politics (page 35-37) Published by Hutchin Son and Co. Publishers Hawthorn, G. (1996). Constitutional Democracy in the South. Manchester: Manchester University Press. Hayness, J. (1995). Politics in Ghana from Personalist To Democratic Rule (page 99) in J.A. Wiseman (ed) Democracy and political change in sub-Saharan Africa, London Rutledge. Hayness, Jeff (1997). Democracy and civil society in the Third World. Cambridge policy press.

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Hayness, J. (2001). Democracy in the Developing World (page 134-162).

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publishers Inc. 350 main street Malden; MA 02148, USA. Huntington, S. (1991). The Third Wave of Democratization in the late 20th century (page 226-227); Oklahoma University Press. Janda, B. and Goldman (2000) . The Challenge of Democracy. Houghton Mifflin Company Jeffries, R. and Thomas, C. (1993). Ghanaian elections of 1992 Affairs, Vol. 92 No. 368. Johari, J.C. (2000). Comparative Politics. Sterling Publishers Private Limited New Delhi110016, India. Johari, J.C. (2002). Principles of Modern Political Science. Sterling Publishers Private Limited New Delhi-110020, India. Kwesi, J. (2003). The Social Significance of Ghana 2002 District Level Elections in the Upper East Region, Occasional Papers No. IEA. Kwesi, J. (1998). Political parties and the transition to Multi-party politics in Ghana. Accra: University of Ghana Press. Karikri, K. (1998). The Press and the Transition to Multi-party Democracy in Ghana. Accra: Freedom Publication. .Ninsin, A. K. (1995). Ghana’s political Transition (1990-1993). Accra: publication, Legon.

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Ninsin, K. A. and. Drah, F.K (1987). The Search for Democracy in Ghana (A case study of political instability in Africa). Published by Asempa publishers Christian Council of Ghana, Accra. Ninsin, K. (1996). Political Participation 1990-1993. Accra: Freedom Publication. Kumekpor , K.. B. (2002). Research Methods and Techniques of Social Research. Accra.: Sonlife Printing Press and Services ,Adenta Lancaster. C. (1988). Political Economy and Policy Reform in Sub-Saharan Africa. Lynne Rienner, Boulder. Linz, J. and Stepan, A. (1997). Towards Consolidated Democracies, in Larry Diamond Consolidating the Third Wave Democracies. Johns Hopkins University Press. Linz, J. and Stepan, A. (1996). Towards Consolidated Democracies. Journal of Democracy (page 14-33). Lipset, S.M. (1980). Some Social Requisites of Democracy. Economic Development and Political legitimacy. Baltimore: .John Hopkins University Press, Lukman, R. and Gordon, W. (1996). Democratization in the South. The jagged wave, Manchester University Press. Lukman, R. (2000). Democratic Institutions and Politics in Contexts of Inequality, Poverty and Conflict, IDS working Paper no. 104 Lively, J. (1986). Democracy, Basil Blackwell. Oxford University Press. 125

Mainwaring (1995). Building Democratic Institutions: Party system in Latin America. Stamford’s University Press. Makau, M. (2000). African Human Rights System: A critical Evaluation, Background Paper to the Human Development Report. Moore, B. (1966). The Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy. Boston.: Beacon Press, Mohammed, S. (2001). African Democracies and African politics (page 1-15) Published by Pluto Press; 345 Archway Road London N6 5AA and 23883 quick silver Driver, sterling VA 20166-2012 USA Nachmais, C. F. and Nachmais, D. (1996). Research Methods in the Social Sciences. J.W Arrows Smith Ltd.Britol.United Kingdom Nicholas, A. (2003). The Mass Media and Grassroots Political Participation. Accra: Department of Political Science, University of Ghana. Nicholas, A. (2003). Ghana’s Democratic Renaissance. Accra: Department of Political Science, University of Ghana Nugent , P. (1995). Big men, Small Boys and Politics in Ghana. London and New York Pinter O’Donnell, G. (1996). Illusions About Consolidation, Journal of Democracy, 160-168. Olayiwola Abiola Olufemi(2007) Procedures in Educational Research, Hani jam Publications A3 Ahmadu Belloway,Kaduna. 126

Organization of African Unity. (2001). The New Partnership for Africa’s Development, Addis Ababa. Oquaye, M. (1995). Ghanaian Elections of 1992.

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377. Pickles, D. (1971). Democracy by Willner Brother Limited Birkenhead – Great Britain. Prezeworski, P. (1991). Democracy and Market; Political Economy Reforms in Easter Europe and Latin America, Cambridge university Press. Prezeworski , P. (1996). What makes Democracies Endure, Journal of democracy Randall, V. and Svasand, L. (2002). Introduction: The Contribution to Democracy and Democratic Consolidation, Democratization, Vol. 9 1-10. Republic of Ghana (1991). Evolving a True Democracy, Summary of NCDs work towards the establishment of a new democratic order, Accra, Ghana Publishing Corporation. Rueshemeyer, (1992). Capitalism, Development and Democracy. Polity Press, Cambridge. Sandbrook (1999). Reforming the political Kingdom, Governance and Development in Ghana’s Fourth Republic CDD-Ghana. Sartori, G. (1962). Democratic Theory, Wayne State University Press, Detroit 2, Michigan. Salim, A. S. (1999). The challenge to Africa of the New Millennium: The Perspective of the Organization of Africa.

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Schumpeter, J. (1947). Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy. New York.: Harper and Brothers Shivji, I. (1991). The Democracy Debate in Africa, Review of African Political Economy 50 (page 79-91) Tanzania Tordoff, W. (1997). Government and politics in Africa (page 113-144). Third Edition Macmillan Press Limited, Hound Mills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG 216x5 and London companies. Wiseman A . J. (1995). Democracy and political change in Sub-Saharan Africa (page 92-115 published by Rutledge 29 West 25th street, New York 10001. World Bank (2010). The development Report, Oxford University Press.

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APPENDIX (A): QUESTIONNAIRE KWAME NKRUMAH UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHOLOGY (DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING) “Local Level Political Participation towards Democratic Consolidation in Ghana: A Case Study of Sissala West Constituency” Good morning/afternoon/evening, I am a student of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, conducting a survey on the level of political participation at the local level towards consolidating democracy in Ghana. You would therefore be contributing greatly to the success of this survey. Therefore all responses made shall be kept confidential. Thank you for co-operation. SECTION A: DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE OF RESPONDENTS (tick the appropriate response) 1. Name: Surname…………………………………………………………………………….. Other(s)……………………………………………………………………………………. 2. Gender/Sex a. Male

b. Female

3. Age………………………………………………………………………………………… 4. Educational Background a. Tertiary b. Secondary c. Basic (JSS&Middle) d. None 5. Position………………………………………………………………………………….. 129

6. Occupation………………………………………………………………………………. SECTION B: NATIONAL POLITICAL PROCESSES Political Participation (tick the appropriate response) 7. Are you a registered voter?

A. Yes

b. No

If no, provide brief reason for your response……………………………………………… 8. Do you belong to any political party a. Yes b. No 9. Do you regularly vote in the general and local government elections? a. Yes

b. No

If yes, which of the following general elections did you vote? A) 1992…b)1996…c) 2000…d) 2004…e) 2008…f) All the above…. If no why………………………………………………………………………………….. 10. Are you a registered member of a political party? A. Yes b. No If no, assign reason for your response…………………………………………………….. 11. Do you persuade others to vote a. Yes

b. No

12. Do you actively work for a political party or candidate? A. Yes

b. No c. Indifferent

Provide a short reason for your response………………………………………………….. 13. Do you attend political meetings or rallies? A. Yes

130

b. No

Provide brief reason for your response……………………………………………………. 14. Do you contribute money to political party or candidate? A. Yes provide

reason

b.

No

If

yes/no,

for

your

response…………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… 15. Do you belong to any political club? A. Yes b. No Provide brief reason for your response……………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………. Assessing Democratic Consolidation (tick the appropriate response) 16. Has the parliament, Judiciary, Executive, civil society, Electoral Commission and the mass media performed well since the inception of Democracy in Ghana? A. Yes b.

No

c. Indifferent Provide short reason for response……………………………… 17. Do you like the present liberal democratic system in Ghana? A. Yes

b.

No

c.

Indifferent Provide a brief reason for your response…………………… 18. Do you think the current democratic order adequately caters for the poor in the society?............................................................................................................................... 19. How does the economy under the democratic dispensation affects your life? Positively b. negatively c. Indifferent

131

A.

20. Do you have fair knowledge in political issues in Ghana? A. Yes b. No Explain if response is yes………………………………………………………………………… 21. Has Democracy improved in Ghana since 1992? A. Yes b. No c. Indifferent Provide reason for your response…………………………………………………….. 22. On the scale of 1-10 (one being the lowest and ten being the maximum) indicate the level of your satisfaction with Ghana’s Democratic development 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 (check your response with X mark) 23. Do you think Ghana can be called a democratic country? (i.e. Government of the people) a. Yes b. No Provide reason for response………………………………………………………………. SECTION C: LOCAL POLITICAL PROCESSES Political participation (tick the appropriate response) 24. Do you always vote in the local government elections? a. Yes b. No c. Indifferent If yes/no, provide reason for response…………………………………………………. 25. Do you always contact local or national officials (issued based)/ a. Yes b. No Any reason for your response…………………………………………………………….. 26. Do you always contact local or national officials on development issues a. Yes b. No

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Any reason for response……………………………………………………………………. 27. Do you always work with others on local problems/problem solving organization? A. Yes b. No Specify………………………………………………………………………… 28. Are you an active member in a local government institution or committee? A. Yes b. No Specify…………………………………………………………………………………….. 29. What is your opinion about local government elections in Ghana?............................... Assessing problems of democratic processes at the local level (tick the appropriate response) 30. Does

the

economic

situation

affect

your

voting

behavior

in

this

constituency?.......................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................................................ 31. Does the economic situation affect your voting behavior in this constituency? A. Yes b. No c. Indifferent (If your response is either Yes or No, then response to question 33 below? 32. Indicate in ascending order of importance (1-5) the matters that affect you most in

making your vote a) ability to meet the cost of education b) ability to meet the cost of health c) ability to meet general economic commitments d) voting as political right e) voting as a decisions making to elect political leaders f) all the above

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33. Do you think that the present democratic order is capable of solving your individual and social problems? A. Yes b. No c. Do not know If Yes/No explain………………………………………………………………………………… 34. Does this affect your acceptance of democratic process in Ghana? A. Yes b. No c. Do not 35. What suggestions

Would you make to ensure the deepening of Ghana’s democracy

real?................................................................................................................................................. Comparative assessment of the democratization at both local and national levels 36. How do you perceive local and national elections as cardinal for Ghana democratic edeavour?............................................................................................................................................ ............................................................................................................................................................ 37. On the scale of 1-10 (one being the lowest and ten being the maximum) indicate your level of significance attached to local and national elections 1, 2, 3 , 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 (check your response with X mark) Local elections: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 (check your response with X mark) National elections: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 (check your response with X mark)

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APPENDIX (B) DETERMINATION OF THE SAMPLE SIZE

)

N= 25334,

a= 10% (0.1),

25334

=

n= sample size N= sample frame a= error margin 1= constant By substitution:

25,334

1+25334(0.1)

1+25334(0.01)

Therefore the sample for the study was = Sample size

99.606825

=

100

135

=

25334

25334

1+253.34

254.34