Director of the Faculty of Academic Affairs and Research at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre, Prof. Kwesi Aning has agreed with President Akufo-Addo that democracy has been a blessing to Ghana.

He stated that comparing “the uncertainties of the 70s [which] led to the extreme violence of the 1980s – the insecurities around education, health, and food security, to where we are now, the superficial conclusion is that at least, the freedom from fear has almost been established and the freedom from want is largely dealt with.”

His comment was part of discussions on Newsfile on Saturday regarding the state of the country’s democracy following the commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the holding of the Referendum that approved the 1992 Constitution.

Nevertheless, Prof Aning stated that there are still veritable challenges that continue to undermine democracy.

“One relates to the issue of employment and the panoply of interventions that have been made targeting employment generally, but also the youth in particular of which the conclusion as to whether there are successes or otherwise is still up in the air.

"When people vote directly for those who govern them at the local level, there is more demand for accountability, and delivery of services"

– Prof. Kwesi Aning on MMDCE elections. #Newsfile pic.twitter.com/ZYTBXb11sY

— Joy 99.7 FM (@Joy997FM) April 30, 2022

“Another relates to the mere acceptance of violence as a legitimate tool in undertaking our democratic activities and I think we’ve seen this in the usage of direct physical violence and also psychological violence in intraparty elections.”

This statement was in reference to the New Patriotic Party’s Constituency elections which were marred by violence in Constituencies like Okaikwei South, and Dome-Kwabenya all in the Greater Accra Region, to Kwadaso and Subin Constituencies of the Ashanti Region and the Yendi Constituency in the Northern part of the country.

He added that “the nexus between the flowery campaign promise when politicians seek power and the actual capacity to deliver and also the behaviour and the conduct of the political class and the actions and inactions of the political elite, are all factors that contribute to creating an enabling environment that can threaten the democracy,” and needs to urgently be addressed.