Savouring Ghanaian Politics at an Election Year: How Titillating?

Abstract

Abstract

Every election years provides an opportunity for the citizenry to muster up their appeal. For many Ghanaians who are often precluded from national deliberations and decisions, election years constitute a monumental period. That is when politicians come to their level, beg for forgiveness, douse them with money and encourage them to vote for them. In many rural communities, this period provides the only opportunity for them to see or even task the candidates that would be seeking their votes. Therefore, for such constituents, it is the time to push for what they want because they hold the trump card. The article delves into election year politics and how this brings out the best concerns among the Ghanaian electorate. It touches on political clientelism, denoting the imbalance that prevails between the politician and the electorate. It also focuses on the accountability pressures politicians face and the innovative measures that have been taken by the electorate to demand their fair share of the electoral spoils. It concludes that the electorate have a legitimate concern to demand a lot from politicians because as often the case, once these politicians are voted into office, they forget them.

Keywords: Ghana – elections – politicians – corruption – political clientelism – electorate