Recent elections in Ghana and the United States of America ended with opposition candidates John Atta Mills and Barack Obama sworn into office as new presidents elect through a free, fair and democratic system. UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, has praised the Ghanaian election as “a democratic achievement and an example to others” [1] African states. Against the painful backdrop of last elections in Kenya, Cameroon, Togo, Ethiopia, and Zimbabwe, Ghana’s elections bring some much needed optimism to Africa’s reputation. Along with Benin, Senegal, Botswana, South Africa, and Mali, Ghana is establishing a political and electoral process which can really be called democratic. The process is democratic, free, and fair because of the system and the leadership respecting the institutions and rule of law. In Ghana’s first round of voting on December 7, 2008 Mr. Atta Mills won 47.92% of the votes and Mr. Akufo-Addo won 49.13% [2]. This forced a run-off election between the two candidates, which was held on December 28th. The results were not decided until January 2, 2009 because of a postponement due to inadequate voting circumstances in the Tain constituency in the Brag-Ahafo region of the country. This constituency was reported as lacking proper voting materials needed for free and fair elections and therefore became a point of contention between the two running parties. This issue was addressed and the election was resumed and completed successfully.

This election marks the 2nd successful transfer of power in Ghana since the 1992 democratic elections during which Jerry Rawlings (the organizer of three Ghanaian military coups during the 1980s) helped to establish multi-party elections and was democratically elected president. Rawlings also won a second term in the 1996 elections. In the 2000 presidential elections Rawlings stepped down to transfer power to the opposition party of John Kufuor – a surprising move, marking the first peaceful transition of power in Ghana’s independent history. Kufuor was re-elected in 2004 [5]. The transfer of power in the 2008 elections is evidence of Ghana’s stability and should remind us how far the country has come in recent years.

John Atta Mills, Ghana’s newly elected president, served as vice president to Jerry Rawlings during his second term in office [6].  Mills was then chosen as successor for the Rawlings party and ran in the 2000 and 2004 elections unsuccessfully [5].  Now that Mills has been officially sworn into office the country hopes that he and his party, the National Democratic Congress, will be able to initiate some improvements. Among other agenda topics, Mills plans to focus on increasing public savings and investments with goals to focus specifically on the country’s infrastructure with attention to energy, telecommunication, water, and public transport.  Mills also focuses on the need of providing adequate health care for every citizen, recognizing that a healthy society is a productive society.  He hopes to focus not only on curative medicine but also make a large push toward improving preventative medicine practices [7].

The IIJD believes that in order for elections to be constituted as free and fair they must meet certain criteria. First of all, an independent national electoral commission must exist within the country to carry out and monitor the election process without influence from political parties or the existing government.  Secondly, a fair, just and transparent electoral law must be recognized as such by all members involved, including members of the government, political parties and voters.  Thirdly, the country must support free and open media coverage regardless of any dissent displayed by a candidate or party. The citizenry must also be registered, have free and unrestricted access to the media and press, and be able to cast votes without intimidation or persuasion.  Lastly, all political candidates must have access to a free campaign in all areas of the country, even political strongholds [8]. 

The IIJD believes that these democratic conditions were met in Ghana and asserts that this is the reason that the elections have been such success. Especially commendable is the manner in which the problems in the Tain constituency were addressed. The fact that the electoral process was halted and investigated was important, since it ensured that voting in this district was conducted in a free and fair manner. This proved Ghana’s commitment to electoral justice and is a major reason that the outcomes of the elections were accepted peacefully.

Strong democratic governance is not made by elections – free and fair elections are instead a product of sound democratic governance.  In order to achieve more examples of electoral success such as that which was realized in Ghana, the IIJD strongly encourages other African countries to evaluate the effectiveness of their democratic governance. When a country has a strong democratic foundation in a place that upholds law and order, provides constituents with fair and unbiased information, and assures voters that they will be able to cast ballots free of intimidation or fear, the outcome will always be peaceful and accurately representative of the public. Without a strong foundation of justice and freedom, as demonstrated by meeting stated criteria, democracy cannot and will not flourish.

The IIJD calls upon the international community, specially all those who not long ago were still condemning the regime of Lansana Conté in Guinea known to be  one of the most repressive and non democratic in the world, to take advantage of the current situation in Conakry to establish strong foundation for a durable democracy.  Demanding that the new leadership in Guinea organizes elections without these institutions in place would be absurd. Insisting that the institutions of the former regime be reestablished before normalizing relations with Guinea is disrespectful and arrogant not only to the people of Africa, but also to those who believe that the people of Guinea deserve a democratic society too.