Attorney General (AG) and Minister of Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame, has stated that while every democracy has imperfections, it “remains unmatchable as the best form of government.”
He noted that importance of democracy was the appetite with which Ghanaians elected to choose the 1992 Constitution, which “prescribed a form of government universally touted to be the best means of assuring a determination by the citizenry of the kind of leadership deemed fit for the country at all times”.
“For a manifestation of the imperfections of democracy, we need to look no further than recent events in the modern age’s self-declared preceptor and exporter of democracy around the world, the United States of America. For all the robustness of her constitutional and democratic structures, tweaked and nurtured painstakingly over the years since the founding of America 245 years ago, it emerged from a close encounter with the spectre of political anarchy and a near insurrection on 6th January 2021.
“However, it still holds on fast to democracy without question. Democracy may have its imperfections but it is indispensable,” he said.
Mr Dame was speaking at the Annual Conference of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) in Ho yesterday when he made the call.
Attributes
He mentioned that the attributes of a sound democratic state are ultimately the same as the objects of the rule of law, which include the right of individual citizens of sound mind and reasonable age to vote at regular elections and the existence of a majority rule.
Other attributes, he noted, include the entitlement of each individual of a statutorily prescribed age to offer himself for a political office; a freely elected government accountable to the people; and the existence of independent arms of government with each performing distinct roles and mindful of the limits to their constitutionally imposed functions.
Mr Dame added that central to these attributes is the conduct of elections, making it imperative that the body constitutionally charged with the organisation of free and fair elections in a democracy to be protected and respected.
“I am pleased to observe that over the course of time, the Electoral Commission of Ghana clearly has demonstrated a sound understanding of the sacred responsibility it bears to the people of Ghana to organise elections in a manner prescribed by the Constitution. This clear understanding of its basic duty to hold credible elections was firmly established in 2020, when under the most trying conditions forced upon the world by COVID-19, the Electoral Commission of Ghana remained unshaken in its quest to give to the people of Ghana an opportunity to select their own leadership,” he said.
Judiciary
Touching on the work of the Judiciary to safeguard democracy, the AG explained that it is the court which gives to the nation both certainty and clarity of the law, with the effect of its work permeating every facet of our nation’s life.
He added that lack of confidence in the integrity of the judicial and legal system holds back investment, trade and hopes of prosperity in countries, underscoring the need to appreciate the enormity and complexity of the work of the Judiciary.
“Judges are often called upon to make decisions on some of the most difficult moral, social, economic and political questions. They are decisions that very few of us would feel comfortable making. However, it is judges, with their wisdom derived from long experience, intellect, discipline and knowledge of the law, that shoulder the grave responsibility for adjudicating on those issues in furtherance of the principle that justice should be done,” he noted.
He added that the country had gained a worldwide reputation for its justice system and legal services, adding “Central to that reputation is the integrity of her Judiciary and the quality of judgments emanating from our courts, with decisions of our Superior Courts cited in cases in other jurisdictions. Our courts are recognised throughout the world for their excellence and openness to innovation.”
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