I have organized Presidential Debates, Evening Encounters and Town Hall Meetings for many years when I worked at the Governance Unit of the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), from 2004-2018. As an academic, I have also researched the impact of these engagements on electoral fortunes.
But the current peculiar political condition of Ghana makes the call for debate disingenuous. If a comparison of yesterday and today cannot be done to inform rational choice, then presidential debates, I dare say, won’t help either, in distinguishing between a clear day and a dark night.
The conduct of Presidential Debates have a role to play in our drive towards democratic maturity. But at this particular epoch in our political and governance experience, we must preoccupy ourselves with how to restore the Fourth Republic to its original settings for its sustenance, rather than craving to create a platform for potential political demagoguery that insults the human intelligence of the politically un-inquiring mind.
Yaw Gyampo
A31, Prabiw
PAV Ansah Street
Saltpond
&
Suro Nipa House
Behind Old Post Office
Larteh-Akuapim