Raising the Quality Bar in Ghana's Government - Separating Presidential and Parliamentary Election Cycles

My Take

The Constitution must afford the electorate, separate performance evaluations for the Executive and the Parliament that will be more dispassionate and objective.

Prohibition - The Cost Argument

The longstanding argument against holding separate Presidential and Parliamentary elections, and particularly against doing so in different years, has always been that organising elections are expensive and so purely from a cost management perspective, having both simultaneously cuts down cost and doing otherwise would be too expensive.  

My push back has always that a more effective Parliament using its Power of the Purse to cut out waste and corruption from Government can easily resolve the question of resources to pay for separate elections.  All the global reports about waste and corruption would suggest that there is money to be saved than would cost to mount all these elections. 

Looking at the course of our democratic experience and the future, we need a new Constitutional framework that would enable Ghanaians to discretely tell the Executive and Parliament what we think of their work in formulating policy and implementing laws, and in approving laws to aid the work of the Executive and Judiciary, respectively. 

My Take

In an enterprise such as this, money buys quality. 

Introduce a Quality Test - Each for Himself

‪If today, we lament mediocre governance and bad governance across all arms of Government, it is the price we are paying for not investing in our democracy to give the electorate more power to Whip our politicians vis-à-vis the Party political Whips and Leaderships.

Ghanaians must be able to pass a vote of confidence in our leaders but not en-masse.  Each electaed politician must stand on the record of their personal performance in their given roles as President and Parliamentarian in independent election cycles.

That would require a change in the current law so that  we the Eectors can know how each Member of Parliament votes on every Motion they should vote on so that we can evaluate their record, values and contribution to good governance.  

My Take 

The recorded vote system will allow electors to read, know and judge the choices and positions taken by their MPs.  In this construct, the personal ability, and the objective, individual record in Government for each Candidate will be a real reason for what we have termed locally as 'voting skirt and blouse for one party' where midterm elections become the norm.

Hold Separate Elections – Let the People Wield the Whip

Generally, Ghanaians tend to vote first for Party followed by the Presidential candidate, before considering the Parliamentary candidate.  

Mostly, therefore, our Parliamentary candidates do not stand or win stand on their own record as Local Representatives or Parliamentarians but rather, are covered by the halo of a party and its Presidential candidate. Coupled with the meshing of Parliamentary and Executive leadership, and the unavoidable loss of Parliamentary independence, this leads increasingly to a belief that the greatest problem with our democracy is the quality and independence of those we elect to Parliament.

The benefits of separating the Parliamentary and Presidential election cycles are so great that cost should not be a problem.  Good democracy costs money but if they must face the electorate separately, President and Parliament will be on their toes and  waste will be reduced so we can fund the cost.  

Information - Letting MPs Make their Stances Clear

Importantly, the electorate must have access to the voting record of their Member of Parliament.  Secret voting as we now commonly have must give way to recorded voting to give meaning to the trumpeted "independence of Parliament".  

The Framework - It's all about constitutional amendments

The government review of the proposed Constitutional amendments, the work of pressure groups and citizen marches must focus on the fundamentals of peaceful, radical change that will secure the "accountability" of the President and the Parliamentarian for our economy, and for our nation's future. 

Instead of looking at it in the usual way, and focusing all our thoughts on cost per se, we can find a way to elect great MPs and build an effective Parliament able to check the Executive, the Judiciary and all other institutions of state.

My Take

Bringing in and sustaining quality people is far more important than the focus on costs.

Recruitment A New Breed  - How do you bring quality people in?

The political parties will remain essential vehicles for finding capable politicians who can augment the attractiveness of their party as a team capable to doing the business of national leadership in the Executive and Legislature. 

That's me thinking aloud!

Ekow

AUTHOR

Michael Harry Yamson is the Chief Operating Officer of Ishmael Yamson & Associates; a strategy consulting and investor advisory firm that helps organizations improve their performance and profitability. He is a thought leader with interests in economics, governance and investment issues. To see more from Michael, visit Ishmael Yamson & Associates.