The Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference (GCBC) has advocated reconstituting the Electoral Commission’s (EC) appointment frameworks to ensure its independence.
Reverend Matthew Gyamfi, the GCBC’s President and Bishop of the Sunyani Diocese, made the appeal when they paid a courtesy call on President John Dramani Mahama at the Presidency in Accra.
The bishops were at the Presidency to congratulate the President on his massive victory in the December 7, 2024, general election and to present a litany of issues of national concern for his attention, such as the menace of illegal mining, educational reform, governance and electoral reforms.
Rev Gyamfi also called for reforms in electoral security deployment protocols and the creation of an independent commission for democratic integrity with prosecutorial powers and institutionalise civil service charter to protect public servants.
He recommended the establishment of a biennial inter-party forum led by faith-based and traditional authorities.
He informed the President that Members of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference were just returning from a meeting in Dakar, Senegal, where all the Catholic Bishops of West Africa, the ECOWAS region, including Mali, Guinea, Senegal, and Burkina Faso, were present.
He noted that they had very passionate discussions on the ongoing situation in our sub-region, views from the ground, from all the bishops.
This, he said, was why they were compelled to speak to the growing sense of disillusionment among the people in the sub-region and even in their country.
Rev Gyamfi reiterated that trust in democratic institutions was waning and electoral participation, while still robust by global standards, had declined from 85 per cent in 2016 to 60.9 per cent in 2024.
He said this downturn in electoral participation tells a lot and underscores a growing sense of disengagement among the electorate, particularly and dangerously among the youth.
He noted that the reduced turnout reflects broader concerns about the efficacy of democratic processes in addressing pressing national issues; adding that more worryingly, many young Ghanaians now express disaffection with politics as a vehicle for real change.
He said the perception that politics was transactional and exclusive must be confronted.
“We must make democracy work, not just periodically at the polls, but persistently through policy, equity, and inclusion,” he said.
He said further: “Mr President, we have national unity challenges. Political polarisation has intensified, deepening mistrust between ethnic, regional, and partisan lines. Land disputes, chief tenancy conflicts, and vigilantism persist in flashpoint areas. Electoral violence persists in our democracy.”
Rev Gyamfi said even though Ghana had successfully conducted nine elections between 1992 and 2024 and peacefully transferred power from one government to the other on four occasions in the fourth republic, yet electoral violence had been an enduring feature across all general elections and most by-elections in the country.
Rev Gyamfi said the CDD Ghana report indicated that during the 2024 election, there were 76 incidents, 24 were cases of destruction, seizure, vandalism and invasion of public facilities, while 46 were injuries with six deaths.
He said there were also allegations of partisan dismissals and political vindictiveness against successive regimes, all of these regimes for these 32 years.
The bishops appealed to President Mahama to use the massive support that Ghanaians had given him the mandate and even the ruling National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) control of Parliament, to use the occasion, the opportunity, and the chance to rationalise Article 71 payments and link public service remuneration to national equity.
He urged the Government to prioritize labor-absorbing infrastructure projects, expand and depoliticise Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEA) programme, the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and passing campaign funding regulations with independent audits.
He said, reflecting on these developments, it becomes imperative for both the church and states to collaborate more closely in fostering civic education and engagement.
He said by reinforcing the values of participatory governance and accountability, they could work towards revitalising public trust and ensuring that democracy serves the prosperity of all Ghanaians.
“As shepherds of souls, we do not seek to govern, but we are called to guide, to remind, and to raise our voice when the nation’s conscience trembles,” Rev Gyamfi said.
He added: “Mr President, let us build a politics that serves not itself, but the people. A politics that is not about the survival of the fittest, but about the flourishing of the weakest. A politics where governance is not only performance, but a moral vocation.”
Source:GNA