The Director of the Centre for European Studies and a Senior Lecturer at the Political Science Department of the University of Ghana, Dr Ransford Gyampo, has observed some level of voter fatigue and apathy among the Ghanaian citizenry towards election 2016.
“There is voter fatigue among most of the citizenry … and I foresee that we may have a little lower voter turnout this year,’ Dr Gyampo has noted.
He explained that some Ghanaians are of the view that the two main political parties who have alternated political power since 1992 are the same and, therefore, there is no need for one to be enthused or excited about maintaining or changing them. He claimed people feel that voting brings no personal improvement and have labelled all politicians as the same.
Also, he noted that the opposition parties, especially the New Patriotic Party (NPP), lacked the full financial capacity to compete with the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) to give Ghanaians the needed heated and exciting pre-election atmosphere.
He said though all the other political parties in opposition were doing their best to match up to the NDC, it was clear that the parties faced financial challenges in the absence of fund support by the state.
Freedom of speech for foreigners
Dr Ransford Gyampo said the recent comments and endorsement from famous Nigerian personalities in favour of the NDC and the NPP is not wrong as these people live and work in the country and can make comments to express their views.
He was reacting to recent statements made by Nigerian businessman and publisher Chief Dele Momodu in favour of the Mahama administration and that of actor Hanks Anuku favouring the NPP.
Chief Dele Momodu has expressed the opinion that the Mahama administration has done so well to the envy of most African countries and, therefore, deserves a second term as a “Thank you”, while the actor believes the opposition leader, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, will win the 2016 election.
Dr Gyampo said so long as these foreigners do not take part in voting, expressing their views on the election in Ghana either in favour or against one political party is not a problem.
He said political parties sometimes solicited the endorsement and support of these celebrities and people in society as a campaign tool to garner support from the electorate.
The Donald Trump’s example
Dr Gyampo has cautioned Ghanaians to vote based on their own local experiences and needs to retain or change a political party and not to use the interpretations and misinterpretations the political parties play with the victory of US President-elect Donald Trump to their own advantage.
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