Electoral conflicts and human rights abuse in Ghana A case study of Odododiodio and Awutu-Senya East Constituencies (2016-2020)

Abstract

Ghana has held several successful elections since 1992. However, the country still faces many threats of widespread violence due to the recurring nature of micro-level electoral violence and the presence of vulnerabilities such as political patronage, exclusionary politics, a winner-takes-all electoral system, and ethnic cleavages. Electoral violence in Ghana continues to be at the forefront of Ghanaian political discourse. This study examined electoral conflicts and human rights abuses associated with electoral violence in Ghana from 2016 to 2020 in the Odododiodio and Awutu-Senya East constituencies. The Institutional Functionalism Theory of Violence, the Theory of Electoral Violence, and the Political Approach to Human Rights underpinned the study. The study adopted a mixed-methods approach, employing a multiple-case study design. A total of 175 respondents formed the sample. Structured interviews and questionnaires were used to collect data from respondents. The data was analysed using content analysis. Results were presented using graphs and direct speech marks. The findings of this research identified the high migration of foreigners to Awutu Senya East, vigilantism, the politicisation of electoral crimes, and a lack of trust in state institutions as some of the major drivers of electoral violence. Deaths, insults, threats, physical assault, injuries, and destruction of property are reported as some of the human rights abuses that are perpetrated during the election violence in these constituencies. This study emphasised that with careful oversight, a human rights-based approach can be employed to strengthen international principles and the 1992 constitution of Ghana to respect, promote, and protect the human rights of individual victims in electoral conflict. There is a need to properly grasp the human rights’ role in redressing the powerlessness experienced by those seeking to exercise their civil and political rights and those trying to provide them across all electoral conflict settings.