The “New Normal” Of Political Campaign: Election 2020 In Ghana
In Ghana, the December 7 General Election is only four months away and the stability, unpredictability, political tension coupled with the emergence of COVID -19, will be an unprecedented electoral period in the country’s political history!
The Electoral Commission has indicated its readiness to conduct the 2020 General Election per the legal requirements of the 1992 Republican Constitution of Ghana that give rights to citizens to elect their representatives at the helm of affairs within a constitutional framework. Acknowledging the need to adapt to the realities of the “new normal”, the Electoral Commission set up a programme of activities and modalities that will provide a free and fair electoral process.
All eligible voters were given the opportunity to register for the compilation of a new voter register. However, with exponential upsurge in crises of COVID -19, politicians must adapt to the realities of the “new normal “by using other alternatives to communicate their campaign messages and strategies. This is because political parties cannot campaign through conventional or traditional means as a result of the safety protocols put in place by government to address the spread of the virus.
The two major political parties, the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the Opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) had constituted their National Campaign Teams ahead of the forthcoming election. Even though political campaign has been severely limited by the pandemic, it is very active in recent times. The COVID -19 pandemic has changed everything from how campaigns are conducted to how we vote to what we value. It has substantially cancelled major rallies and mass gathering to the digital realm!
The”new normal” political campaign is characterized by the rise of a predominantly new system alien to our electoral process – digital politics. The new digital politics will push the creation of new career opportunities to our digital space but could also have the tendency to providing charlatans flooding the social media.
Traditional or conventional political campaigns in Ghana are basically conducted through door- to door, constituency, regional and national rallies. As a result of COVID -19, social media platforms offer a flexible conduit for effective means of political communication. In using these platforms, politicians should however be mindful of the ‘weaponisation’ of social media to spread insecurity, electoral violence, and misinformation and incite hate and electoral manipulation that will challenge the credibility and integrity of results of the election and subsequently subvert democracy.
In the quest to consolidate our democracy, it must be noted that, everything about election should not be partisan. Political parties and candidates should endeavour to develop social media content for people regardless of political affiliation or biases, and create informations that have the tendency to establishing peace, political stability, unity, togetherness and a secure environment. All political parties need to exercise decorum and political maturity to communicate their manifestos and solicit support for their respective victories. Expertise in political communication and strategy must be the yardstick for the composition of all campaign teams in order to articulate the views of the parties.
BUSACgh reminds all political parties and their candidates to adhere to the safety protocols as Covid -19 affects a shift in the conventional way of political campaign in the country. Covid – 19 is still with us as a people and we must avoid being complacent about our low mortality rate of the deadly virus. Scenes from mini rallies and political gatherings need to be looked at critically. Though rallies are the lifeblood of election campaigns and one of the main ways candidates put across their messages to the masses, in this ‘new normal’, political rallies are held online, socially distanced door knocking sessions, and fists bumps instead of handshakes. This would have been unthinkable yet this is what our politicians must contend with to create an atmosphere of healthy and secure voters as the country gears up for the 2020 General Election on December 7.
Let us all stay safe and secure !
David Wilson Asetena-Krah
Executive Chairman & Founder (BUSACgh )
0208304942/0543419095.
