Thuggery, Sophisticated Impunity: Threats to Representative Democracy in Ghana

The paper discusses patterns and dynamics of by-election violence and consequences on candidate selection in Ghana. Analysis of by-election violence as a factor of political thuggery, impunity and effects on candidate selection remain scanty on Ghanaian politics. The paper analyses the problem using nine “violent” and nine “violent-free” by-elections between 1993 and 2019, and implications on voter turnout and margin of victory between National Democratic Congress and New Patriotic Party. Voter turnout and margin of victory are low in “violent” by-election compared with “violent-free” parliamentary election in the same constituency, and “violent-free” by-elections in other constituencies. Violence is incited by foot-soldiers of the parties. I attribute by-election violence to apparent weak commitment by the government to crack the whip by linking electoral injustice and impunity to the conduct of democratic election and law maintenance. The challenge speaks to institutionalization, electoral reforms and simple majority benefiting from the entire political establishment.