A few days after the December 2016 elections in Ghana, a cartoon appeared in Uganda’s Sunday Monitor depicting a civics lesson in a classroom where the teacher asked the question: What is…
Latest posts - Page 46
Ghana’s 2016 Elections- Restoring Hope in Democracy?
Ghana: Another Peaceful Alternation of Power
by Seidu Alidu
On December 7 2016, Ghana held its seventh national elections since the beginning of the Fourth Republic. [1] In the run up to the elections two questions stood out prominently. First, will the Electoral Commission (EC) be neutral and fair? Second, will there be violence during and after the elections? The first question did arise […]
Ghana’s 2016 Elections- Restoring Hope in Democracy?
Assessing the Performance of the First Female Chairperson of Ghana’s Electoral Commission
by Gertrude Dzifa Torvikey
Ghana’s recent presidential and parliamentary elections were presided over by the country’s first female chair of the Electoral Commission (EC). Mrs Charlotte Kesson-Smith Osei, a 45-year-old lawyer who chaired the National Commission on Civic Education (NCCE) before being appointed in June 2015 to head the EC. Mrs Osei’s replaced Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, who had chaired […]
Ghana’s 2016 Elections- Restoring Hope in Democracy?
‘My Wife, My Sister, My Mother’ : Electing More Women to Parliament in Ghana [1]
Ghana’s 2016 Elections- Restoring Hope in Democracy?
Ghana’s Media Comes of Age in Elections Coverage
by Kwami Ahiabenu II
Media coverage of elections have come a long way since the transition elections of 1992. However, despite improvements, challenges still persist. Some commentators note that election coverage often fails to properly interrogate electoral issues, campaign promises and manifestos in a manner that demands accountability or enables the voters to make well-informed choices at the polls. Also, […]
Essays
Writing on African Peacebuilding: Reflection on Personal Experiences
by Ismail Rashid
Since everyone writes differently, formulating a standard set of advice on how best to pull together your research into an effective book, book chapter, article, or policy paper or brief is very difficult. In offering my personal experiences as a guide, I want to highlight choices and challenges I have faced, decisions I have made, […]
Essays
South Africa’s Withdrawal from the Rome Statute: A Commentary on Moral Equivalence in International Relations
by Amy Niang
Although not entirely unexpected, South Africa’s announcement that it had taken steps to withdraw from the Rome Statute, the founding treaty of the International Criminal Court (ICC), has baffled many observers. South Africa is generally seen as a champion of human rights, given its liberal constitution, the existence of a strong civil society advocacy for […]
Essays
“Africanizing” Media Coverage of Threats to Peace and Security on the Continent
by Fredrick Ogenga
A recent surge of terrorism has compounded preexisting threats to Africa’s peace and security, manifesting in complex forms of conflicts that are undermining the continent’s developmental ambitions. Creative solutions are needed to mitigate conflict and address the new threats, which include religious fundamentalism and extreme forms of violence. Of particular note is terrorism, now mutated […]
Democracy, Development and Governance
Africa’s Development: The Paradox of Continental Integration and Closed Borders