International Democracy Day: My Reflections
September 15 was International Day of Democracy. It is a day set aside by the United Nations to promote the strengthening and consolidation of democracy around the world.
It is, also in my view, a day for sober reflection on current challenges facing democracies and an opportunity for stakeholders to renew their commitments to addressing them.
It has often been my contention that the dividends of democracy must be examined by looking at how well the political system (democracy) is meeting the “bread and butter” needs of citizens.
This is driven by Giovanni Carbone’s work from 2009, “The Consequences of Democratisation,” in which he argued that beyond the guaranteed freedoms that come with democracy, citizens are also likely to demand a “broad balance sheet.” The idea here is that, in addition to basic freedoms, citizens also want social and economic goods.
In short, citizens want both freedom and development. My contention, as well as the argument of Carobone, rests on two assumptions – a) democracy is a means to an end and b) we know what those ends are for citizens.
But what do citizens want from democracy? In this reflection, I explore a) what democracy really means to Ghanaians and b) whether, based on those meanings, democracy is meeting their expectations. For answers, let’s turn to the Afrobarometer survey.
What does democracy mean to Ghanaians? In Afrobarometer Round 1 (1999), respondents were asked “when you hear the word democracy, what is the first thing that comes to your mind?”
The top three things, as coded by the survey, were – a) Civil liberties/personal freedoms (37%); b) Government by the people/of the people/for the people (29%); and c) Voting/electoral choice/multiparty competition (13%).
The question was repeated in Round 3 (2005) with the following as the top three responses – a) Civil liberties/personal freedoms (57%); b) Government by the people/of the people/for the people (15%); and c) Voting/electoral choice/multiparty competition (8%).
The question was repeated and last asked in Round 6 (2014) with the following as the top three responses – a) Civil liberties/personal freedoms (65%); b) Government by the people/of the people/for the people (7%); and c) Voting/electoral choice/multiparty competition (7%).
The pattern of responses points to two key things. First, when it comes to democracy, Ghanaians tend to think of it primarily in terms of freedom. Second, there has been a substantial growth in the percentage of Ghanaians choosing freedom as the first meaning of democracy.
This simply means, in my opinion, that the first obligation of Ghana’s democracy is how well it provides for and protects the freedoms of citizens.
Is our democracy meeting the freedom expectations of Ghanaians?
The Afrobarometer survey again probes Ghanaians about three key political freedoms. The freedom to – a) say what you think (speech); b) join any political organisation (political association); and c) choose who to vote for without feeling pressured (voting freedom). All of these are fundamentally guaranteed by the Ghanaian constitution.
How do Ghanaians evaluate how well democracy is meeting their freedom expectations?
In the first three rounds of the Afrobarometer survey (1999, 2002, 2005), Ghanaians were asked– “Please tell me if the following things are worse or better now than they were a few years ago or are they about the same?” about the three freedoms mentioned in the previous paragraph.
Across these rounds, on average, the majority of Ghanaians answered ‘better or much better’ on all three freedoms – speech (75%); political association (74%); and voting (73%).
From Round 4 (2008) to Round 9(2022), the question was rephrased to ask Ghanaians how free they felt to enjoy the three freedoms expressed above. Across all the rounds, on average, the majority of Ghanaians answered ‘completely free” on all three freedoms – speech (72%); political association (87%); and voting (87%).
The most recent survey year (Round 9, 2022) captures the following percentages as representing Ghanaians who answered “completely free”- speech (63%); political association (84%); and voting (86%).
Ghanaians generally evaluate the extent to which democracy is meeting their freedom expectations very positively. But it must be noted that between Round 4(2008) and Round 9(2022), the percentage of Ghanaians answering ‘completely free” has seen declines across all three freedoms – a) speech (-16 percentage points); b) political association (-5 percentage points); and c) voting freedom (-6 percentage points).
As we continue to celebrate the gains of Ghana’s democracy, we cannot afford the luxury of ignoring its challenges as well. May we use this day to renew our commitments to ensuring that the country’s democracy will always remain peaceful and stable.
More importantly, we need to pledge that the declines seen in how completely free Ghanaians feel to enjoy their basic political freedoms will be reversed. We must always strive to protect these freedoms.
Happy International Day of Democracy.
The writer is the Project Director, Democracy Project.