Political parties would have to, as a matter of urgency, create the needed reforms in order to make any meaningful contributions towards sustaining the country's fledgling democracy, political analyst Mr Kwesi Jonah has said.
He extolled a political dispensation where party functionaries respected divergent opinions of their opponents without resorting to insults and ethnic politics.
Mr Jonah, Head of the Political Science Department at the University of Ghana, made the
observation in Accra at a Public Lecture organized by the University for this year's 61st New Year School which is under the theme "Sustaining Democratic Governance In Ghana: Issues
Before the Nation."
The Annual New Year school has been going on in Ghana for over 60 years, and provides the platform for a cross-section of people to discuss issues of both national and international concerns for action.
The topic for the symposium was "The Electoral Process, Political Parties and the
Media."
Mr Jonah expressed disquiet about the fact that some political parties were formed only
during elections, adding that such parties lacked the capacity to set up offices and run them,as well as operate within a defined political ideology.
"Unless their capacities are built in order for them to run offices in the districts throughout the country, submit their financial statements, enrol more women in responsible
positions and provide the platform where productive policies are debated, political parties
would not make any meaningful contributions to the country's development," he said.
He said the 2008 elections saw only six out of the sixteen parties registered with the Ghana Electoral Commission, with the other ten remaining 'technically dead.'
Mr Jonah said that presently only two out of four vibrant political parties had over 90 per
cent of the total parliamentary representations, adding that there was more room for improvement for the parties to operate in order to contribute positively towards improving good governance in the country.
Mr Yorke Aidoo, Director of Human Resource at the Ghana Electoral Commission,stressed the need to institutionalize public participation in order to engender collective ownership of the electoral process and to reduce, if not totally eliminate, apprehension, fear and insecurity that normally characterized election periods.
"These efforts would also remove the erroneous notions some may have that election
results could either be manipulated or manufactured," he said.
Mr Aidoo called on political parties and their functionaries to respect the divergent views
of their political opponents in order to preserve the relative peace in the country.
He appealed to electoral officers and the media to be circumspect, especially during election periods, in order to protect and sustain the country's fledging democracy.
Dr Audrey Gadzekpo, School of Communications Studies, University of Ghana, Legon,expressed dissatisfaction about the fact that the lack of maturity existed in a cross-section of the Ghanaian media which had the potential to further polarize the citizenry.
She expressed worry about the fact that if the unprofessional conduct on the part of such
individuals did go unpunished or unsanctioned, it could militate against the country's economic and socio-political gains.
Dr Gadzepo expressed the hope that the passage of the Broadcast Bill would help clear
the air as to whether it is the National Media Commission or the National Communication
Authority, which is responsibility for supervising and sanctioning media houses and
journalists that behaved in an unprofessional manner.