National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketia, has cautioned against complacency over Ghana's democratic record, warning that the country's progress can be reversed if political actors and institutions fail to protect democratic gains.

Mr Asiedu Nketia said Ghana's experience since the beginning of the Fourth Republic demonstrated that peaceful transfers of political power were possible in Africa, but said the country still faced significant threats, particularly election-related violence.

He was speaking at the 2026 Goodluck Jonathan Foundation Democracy Dialogue in Bauchi, Nigeria, on Tuesday, August 11, 2026.

The dialogue was held under the theme "Beyond Elections: Can Political Parties and the Judiciary Save African Democracy?"

Mr Asiedu Nketia said Ghana had held nine consecutive general elections since 1992, with four of those elections—in 2000, 2008, 2016 and 2024—resulting in transfers of power between political parties.

He said the record demonstrated that an African governing party could lose power, transfer authority peacefully and subsequently return to government through the ballot box rather than force.

2008 election

He cited Ghana's 2008 presidential election as an important example of how political actors could protect democratic stability even when election results were extremely close.

Professor John Evans Atta Mills won the election with 50.23 per cent of the vote against 49.77 per cent for Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

The difference between the two candidates was less than one percentage point.

Mr Asiedu Nketia said the ability of political leaders, institutions and citizens to prevent such a close contest from developing into a national crisis was an important democratic achievement.

Concessions and peaceful transitions

He also cited the 2016 election, when then-President John Dramani Mahama conceded defeat and supervised a peaceful transition to the incoming administration.

He said the 2024 election provided another example of the importance of political concessions, noting that then-Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia conceded before the formal declaration after his party's collation indicated that the result could not be overturned.

"These concessions were not ceremonial courtesies; they were constitutional contributions," Mr Asiedu Nketia said.

He said peaceful concessions demonstrated a willingness by political actors to place constitutional order above political interests.

Warning from 2020

However, he warned that Ghana's democratic reputation should not create a false sense of security.

He pointed to the 2020 general election, which produced a Parliament comprising 137 members from each of the two major parties and one independent member.

Despite the peaceful outcome at the parliamentary level, Mr Asiedu Nketia said eight lives were reportedly lost through election-related violence.

"This reminds us that democratic progress is never irreversible," he said.

He argued that democracy should therefore not be assessed only by whether elections were held but also by how political parties behave before, during and after elections.

Democracy beyond election day

Mr Asiedu Nketia said elections only determined who received the authority to govern and did not guarantee that power would subsequently be exercised within constitutional limits.

"Elections determine who receives the authority to govern. They do not, by themselves, determine whether that authority will be exercised lawfully, whether constitutional limits will be respected, whether the opposition will remain legitimate or whether government will improve the lives of the people," he said.

He said the true test of democracy occurred between elections, when governments made decisions, institutions exercised their powers and citizens demanded accountability.

"Democracy is therefore tested not only on election day, but in every decision taken between one election and the next," he said.

Protecting democratic gains

Mr Asiedu Nketia called for greater cooperation among political parties, electoral bodies, the judiciary, civil society, the media and academic institutions to address potential political crises before they escalate.

He said dialogue should not begin only when an election dispute threatened national stability.

He also urged political parties to strengthen internal democracy, improve inclusion and reduce the financial barriers to political participation.

"The future of African democracy will not be secured merely by conducting more elections," he said.

According to him, democratic stability would depend on institutions that make elections meaningful, governments accountable, constitutional limits effective and peaceful transfers of power normal.

He said Ghana's experience offered useful lessons for other African countries, but the country itself needed to continue protecting and strengthening its democratic institutions.