REDUCING ABUSE OF INCUMBENCY AND ELECTORAL CORRUPTION IN GHANA S ELECTION 2016

Transcription

1 1 REDUCING ABUSE OF INCUMBENCY AND ELECTORAL CORRUPTION IN GHANA S ELECTION 2016 STAR GHANA/GII COALITION JUNE AUGUST REPORT, 2016

2 OUTLINE 2 Introduction Abuse of Incumbency & Electoral Corruption & Definitions Project Scope & Methodology Main Findings Electoral Corruption Main Findings Abuse of Incumbency Main Findings Fair & Equal Access to State Media Resources Conclusions & Recommendations

3 Introduction 3 On June 1, 2016, the Coalition (GII, CDD, GACC & CMaC) Monitoring Abuse of Incumbency and Electoral Corruption deployed Observers. These are related to: Promoting a More Level Political Playing Field: Reducing Abuse of Incumbency and Electoral Corruption in Ghana s Election The project spans April to Dec. 31, 2016, supported by STAR-Ghana. The aim: to monitor, expose and condemn the occurrence and any forms of abuse of incumbency and pre-election political corruption in Ghana. This project monitors and tracks the abuse of institutional resources, budget resources, and state media resources as well as the incidences of electoral corruption.

4 Abuse of Incumbency 4 The 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana makes it very clear that political participation and competition must be fair. Article 55 (11): The state shall provide FAIR opportunity to all political parties to present their programs to the public by ensuring EQUAL access to the state owned media. Article 55 (12): All presidential candidates shall be given the SAME amount of time and space on the state-owned media to present their programs to the people. Article 163: All state-owned media shall afford FAIR opportunities and facilities for the presentation of divergent views and dissenting opinions. The Constitution provides these rules because in essence, every political party is a private association of individuals with the political objective to capture public power and serve the public interest.

5 Abuse of Incumbency 5 Consequently when a member of any political party is elected or appointed to a public office as President, Minister of State or Member of Parliament, that person becomes a public officer and must serve public and not private interest - Art. 284 (Code of Conduct for Public Officers) If that officer uses his/her office or public resources to benefit their own party or themselves, they give their party or themselves an illegal advantage, and place themselves in a conflict of interest situation and have abused incumbency. By abusing the resources made available to public officers and engaging in electoral corruption, incumbents and political actors jeopardize the legitimacy of the election processes and outcomes.

6 Abuse of Incumbency & Electoral Corruption Definitions 6 Coercive abuse of incumbency includes physically preventing candidates from advertising; blocking the use of metropolitan, municipal or district facilities for campaign events; denying opponents the right to engage citizens through the national media and securing votes through threats against voters. Corrupt abuse includes using state resources to fund electoral campaigns such as state-funded political advertising for incumbent parties or candidates, or using public employees as campaign staff and public transport facilities for electoral purposes. Corrupt abuse also comprises vote buying. Vote buying is the act of offering an inducement by a party, a candidate or a candidate s agent with the clear intention of harvesting the recipient s vote.

7 Project Scope & Methodology 7 This project has two main parts. The first part involves the monitoring of abuse of incumbency in twenty (20) selected consistencies out of all the constituencies in the country. The selection methodology involved a combination of purposive and multi-stage sampling. The purposive aspect of the sampling identified six constituencies Ablekuma South, Asawase, Awutu Senya West, Ellembelle, Korle Klottey and Yapei Kusawgu as key areas for the Project. The remaining 14 constituencies were selected via multi-stage sampling. The first stage of selection used the competitiveness logic. The assumption is that there is likely to be more abuse of incumbency in constituencies where the competition between the ruling party and the opposition is fiercest.

8 Project Scope & Methodology 8 The second part involves media monitoring of news stories, features, articles, editorials, space, and time in two (2) stateowned daily newspapers (Daily Graphic and Ghanaian Times), two (2) state-owned weekly newspapers (Mirror and Spectator), one (1) state-owned television station (GTV) and one (1) stateowned radio station (Uniiq FM). The media observation aims at promoting fair and equal access to state media resources for example in relation to time, space and prominence provided to contesting political parties. The media monitoring also took note of incidents of abuse of incumbency and electoral corruption reported nationwide.

9 Project Scope & Methodology 9 To conduct the observation/monitoring twenty-five (25) Constituency/Media Observers were recruited and trained on the monitoring indicators and deployed to start observation. The Constituency observers attended public and political functions in their respective constituencies, in particular, and the general environment, and captured instances of abuse of incumbency and electoral corruption using telephone cameras and recorders. The media observation entailed monitoring the selected state media platforms namely Daily Graphic, Times, Mirror and Spectator as well as GTV and Uniiq FM daily and making a tally of the various indicators being measured. This data is subsequently validated by random sampling and cross-checking the facts recorded.

10 Project Scope & Methodology 10 All the Observers submit weekly reports to the Coalition and these reports are verified, collated and analysed. by the Steering Committee of the Coalition. A draft report is developed, reviewed and finalised by a Project Review Committee that is made up of distinguished members from outside the Coalition with expertise in governance, law, media, elections etc. This process is followed to put together the reports and presentations provided to all stakeholders through press events.

11 Main Findings - Electoral Corruption 11 During the period, some incidences of vote buying were observed in selected constituencies and other parts of the country. i. Offering voters money, food and other items aimed at securing votes 17 th July Honourable Dakurah distributing cash!

12 12 Main Findings - Electoral Corruption ii. Provision of medicine/pharmaceutical equipment to institutions and communities aimed at securing votes On Wednesday, 27 th July, 2016, after medical equipment and supplies had been donated to the Navrongo War Memorial Hospital as part of efforts to reduce mother to child transmission of HIV. The MP, Hon. Mark Woyongo, used the function to campaign by highlighting the achievements of the NDC government and the promises he will fulfil if he is re- elected into office. The NDC Women s Organizer also used the occasion to appeal to the people to vote for the President and the MP in the upcoming election. By using the platform to campaign for votes an otherwise purely development activity was subsequently converted for securing votes. Vote buying is the act of offering an inducement by a party, a candidate or a candidate s agent with the clear intention of harvesting the recipient s vote.

13 13 Main Findings - Electoral Corruption iii. Providing services to communities during an election period aimed at securing votes securing or upgrading driving licenses in the Western Region.

14 Main Findings - Electoral Corruption 14 The Coalition did not only observe incidences of vote buying but also a variant that can be described as vote selling e.g. Bolga Sherigu No Light, No Vote Ho Municipality No Electricity, No Vote Abuontem in the Bosomtwe district No road construction, No Vote

15 Main Findings - Abuse of Incumbency 15 On August 16, 2016, during President John Mahama s publicly announced four-day campaign tour of the western region, Outboard motors and pans were distributed to fishermen in Sekondi.

16 Main Findings - Abuse of Incumbency On 17th August, 2016, the Spokesperson of the NDC Campaign, Mrs. Joyce Bawa Mogtari indicated on Joy FM s Super Morning Show that the distribution of outboard motors was part of an on-going government intervention. The Coalition officially considers this particular incident as unfortunate as it is a clear example of government abusing incumbency or using public resources for a private political association. 16

17 . 17 Main Findings - Electoral Corruption ii. Provision of infrastructure/equipment to communities aimed at securing votes. The Coalition also observed an incident during this monitoring period, where the Vice Presidential Candidate of the NPP, Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia commissioned the construction of a mechanized borehole for the Amedzofe College of Education (AMECO) in the Ho-West District of the Volta Region. This incident can be described as an act of providing last minute infrastructure, construction, etc. and the provision of other services to communities aimed at securing votes. Vote buying is the act of offering an inducement by a party, a candidate or a candidate s agent with the clear intention of harvesting the recipient s vote

18 . 18 Main Findings - Fair & Equal Access to State Media Resources Some of the cumulative results on Fair & Equal Access to State Media Resources are captured next: Number of Appearances: This indicator measures the frequency of appearance of political parties/candidates in state sponsored news programs and political forums. From the results of June to August 2016 monitoring, the total number of appearances of political parties within the period of observation was hundred and seventy eight (178) on GTV. POLITICAL PARTY NUMBER OF APPEARANCE PERCENTAGE NDC 76 43% NPP 46 26% PPP 32 18% CPP 11 6% PNC 5 3% APC 4 2% UPP 2 2% IPP % NDP % TOTAL %

19 PECENTAGE. 19 Main Findings - Fair & Equal Access to State Media Resources Number of Appearances: This indicator measures the frequency of appearance of political parties/candidates in state sponsored news programs and political forums. From the results of June to August 2016 monitoring, the total number of appearances of political parties within the period of observation was hundred and one (178) on GTV. PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL APPEARANCES 45% 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% NDC NPP PPP CPP PNC APC UPP IPP NDP POLITICAL PARTIES

20 . 20 Main Findings - Fair & Equal Access to State Media Resources Number of Stories: This indicator measures the number of times a party is covered by the TV station story broadcasts, within a given period. From June to August, 2016 monitoring results, the total number of stories was ninety - six (96) as reflected next. POLITICAL PARTY NUMBER OF STORIES PERCENTAGE NDC 45 47% NPP 24 25% PNC 8 8% PPP 9 9% CPP 4 4% NDP 3 4% APC 2 2% IPP 1 1% TOTAL %

21 . 21 Main Findings - Fair & Equal Access to State Media Resources Number of Stories: This indicator measures the number of times a party is covered by the TV station story broadcasts, within a given period. From June to August, 2016 monitoring results, the total number of stories was ninety - six (96) as reflected next. 50% 45% 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL GTV STORIES 0% NDC NPP PPP PNC CPP NDP APC IPP

22 . 22 Main Findings - Fair & Equal Access to State Media Resources Total Coverage Time: This indicator measures the number of minutes provided by TV per political party/candidate. The total amount of coverage time for all the stories during the period under review was calculated as 15hrs: 30mins:23secs. A breakdown per political party is as follows: POLITICAL PARTY TOTAL COVERAGE TIME PERCENTAGE NDC NPP PNC PPP CPP APC NDP UFP IPP TOTAL 7hrs:39mins:56secs 49% 2hrs:58mins:21secs 19% 26mins:05secs 3% 1hr45mins:51secs 11% 1hr42mins:22secs 11% 8mins:54secs 2% 4mins:38secs 1% 4mins:11secs 0.04% 40mins: 05secs 4% 15hrs: 30mins:23secs 100%

23 . 23 Main Findings - Fair & Equal Access to State Media Resources Total Coverage Time: This indicator measures the number of minutes provided by GTV per political party/candidate. The total amount of coverage time for all the stories during the period under review was calculated as 15hrs: 30mins:23secs. A breakdown per political party is as follows: PERCENTAGE OF GTV COVERAGE TIME CPP, 11% UFP, 0.04% IPP, 4% NDP, 1% APC, 2% PPP, 11% NDC, 49% PNC, 3% NPP, 19%

24 . 24 Main Findings - Fair & Equal Access to State Media Resources NUMBER OF STORIES: This indicator measures a party s access to coverage by the newspaper. It is derived by a simple count of the number of times a party is covered by newspaper stories for each month. 698 stories were featured during the period under review as follows: POLITICAL PARTY NUMBER OF STORIES PERCENTAGE NDC % NPP % CPP % PPP % PNC % APC % NDP % GCPP % IPP % UFP % DPP % TOTAL %

25 PERCENTAGE. 25 Main Findings - Fair & Equal Access to State Media Resources NUMBER OF STORIES: This indicator measures a party s access to coverage by the newspaper. It is derived by a simple count of the number of times a party is covered by newspaper stories for each month. 698 stories were featured during the period under review as follows: PERCENTAGE OF NUMBER OF STORIES 40% 35% 35% 32% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 10% 11% 5% 5% 3% 2% 1% 1% 1% 0% 0% NDC NPP CPP PPP PNC APC NDP GCPP IPP UFP DPP POLITICAL PARTIES

26 . 26 Main Findings - Fair & Equal Access to State Media Resources NUMBER OF APPEARANCES: This indicator measures the frequency of appearance of political parties/ candidates in a state sponsored newspaper. It is derived by a simple count of the number of times a party or its representative is seen in the newspaper within the month. The total number of appearances for June to August 2016 was 393 and was composed as follows: POLITICAL PARTY NUMBER OF APPEARANCE PERCENTAGE NDC % NPP % PPP % CPP % PNC % APC % NDP % IPP % GCPP % UFP % TOTAL %

27 . 27 Main Findings - Fair & Equal Access to State Media Resources NUMBER OF APPEARANCES: This indicator measures the frequency of appearance of political parties/ candidates in a state sponsored newspaper. It is derived by a simple count of the number of times a party or its representative was seen in the newspaper within the month. The total number of appearances for June to August 2016 was 393 and was composed as follows: 1% 1% 0% PERCENTAGE OF NUMBER OF APPEARANCE 9% 5% 7% 5% 3% 30% 39% NDC NPP PPP CPP PNC APC NDP IPP GCPP UFP

28 . Conclusions & Recommendations 28 There are still high occurrences of electoral corruption specifically in vote buying activities by political parties and candidates contesting in the 2016 general and parliamentary elections. There is also an increasingly worrying development of vote selling where communities are demanding the provision of social amenities from especially the incumbent government before they will vote in the upcoming elections. There are incidences of abuse of incumbency mainly by the incumbent government and some sitting Members of Parliament. There is an enhanced knowledge and understanding of vote buying by citizens, who openly express an opinion on the subject when discussed on media platforms.

29 . Conclusions & Recommendations 29 (a) (b) On the broad indicator of Biasing Information, the June to August data analysed shows that information provided by state media outlets was generally biased because some political parties were given more airtime and print space than others. Consequently, it is imperative that media platforms not only: Develop Election and Political Party Coverage Policies to operationalize and give adequate expression to the constitutional obligation of providing fair opportunities and "equal access" for example in the nature of "same amount of time and space" to electoral competitors, as GBC has done but it is also critical that, Such polices are monitored internally by state media platforms through developing mechanisms to do so and state media should also be monitored externally by regulators or civil society to ensure that the spirit and intent of the Constitution is upheld. Ultimately fair opportunity and equal access policies must be enforced to ensure a level playing field for all parties concerned. There is clearly a lot more work to be done by state media outlets to align their operations with the constitutional obligations imposed on them. In relation to the latter task of alignment, it would be helpful to establish a platform that allows key stakeholders to jointly brainstorm and share ideas on how state media platforms could enhance their efforts to achieve these constitutional responsibilities.

30 . Conclusions & Recommendations 30 Abuse of incumbency and electoral corruption erodes the legitimacy of government and political leadership. Politicians, candidates and the general public must therefore, take the matter seriously and speak up against it as it undermines free and fair competition for political power and is an affront to our democracy. This report therefore draws the attention of the public to these abuses of incumbency and electoral corruption and calls on all stakeholders to put a stop to it.

31 . THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION 31 THANK YOU