Promoting Free And Fair Elections In Ghana-A Comparative Study Of The Media In The 2008 And 2016 Elections.

ABSTRACT

The conduct of periodic free and fair elections is gradually becoming the norm rather than the exception in most developing parts of the world including Africa and Ghana. Ghana’s successful conduct of seven multiparty democratic elections resulting in three alternations of power has surpassed the two-turn over test espoused by Huntington. This has also recognised the country as a democratic torchbearer on the continent. In all these elections, the role of the media has been very pivotal in guaranteeing the success and the sustainability of the democratic process. Articles 162 & 165 of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana emphasizes the watchdog role of the media which is very fundamental in ensuring accountability and responsibility of the government to the people of Ghana. The repeal of the criminal libel law in 2001 has ensured the growth and entrenchment of the Ghanaian media as a key stakeholder in the democratic process. An extensive examination of the role of the media in the electoral process in Ghana is thus deemed necessary in order to ascertain the extent to which the media has been able to contribute to the promotion of free and fair elections over the period. By employing the methodological approach of content analysis of some selected major newspapers, this study attempted to compare the 2008 and the 2016 general elections in Ghana in a bid to find out the commonalities and differences of the role played by the media in these elections and how it has contributed to the growth and advancement of democracy over the period. Findings from the study indicated that whereas coverage of both the state and privatelyowned media was reflective of the critical indices of free and fair elections espoused by Goodwin-Gill, the latter was excessively partisan whiles the former exhibited a certain level of objectivity.