Protests ahead of elections in Ghana
On Tuesday, Ghana’s largest opposition party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), organised nationwide protests to demand an audit of the electoral roll for the parliamentary and presidential elections in December. Hundreds of thousands of opposition supporters joined the protests, which took place in all 16 regional capitals, including the capital Accra, under the slogan ‘Enough is Enough’. The protests were triggered by accusations by the social democratic NDC against the electoral commission of manipulating the voter register in favour of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP). According to the party, around 300,000 discrepancies were discovered during the preparation of the elections, including illegal name transfers within the voters’ register, the absence of registered voters and the registration of over 50,000 deceased persons. In addition, voters had been transferred to other polling stations without their knowledge.
The opposition NDC is therefore calling for an independent review of the voters’ register, which should be accompanied by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in order to restore transparency and trust in the election. In Accra, the protesters presented a petition to this effect to parliament and the Electoral Commission. However, the latter rejected the demand on the grounds that the irregularities identified had already been rectified. The ruling NPP party then reaffirmed its confidence in the independence of the process and the electoral commission.
The NDC’s demand for a review of the voters’ register comes against the backdrop of growing political tensions in the country, which were triggered by the recent suspension of a district director of the Electoral Commission due to allegations of illegal vote transfer. The official, who was responsible for the Pusiga constituency in the north of the country, is now under police investigation.
Parliamentary and presidential elections will be held in Ghana every four years on 7 December 2024. The current President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo (NPP) will not be allowed to stand for re-election after two terms in office. Incumbent Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia is running for the ruling party, while former President John Dramani Mahama, who led the government from 2012 to 2017 and lost to Akufo-Addo in both the 2016 and 2020 elections, is running for the NDC. This is the first time that both candidates come from the north of the country. Ghana has long been regarded as a model of democracy and stability in a fragile region. However, the government was also accused of influencing the electoral commission during the last elections in 2020. According to official figures, five people were killed in clashes during the ballot, even though international election observers had assessed the election as largely peaceful.
Germany and Kenya sign migration agreement
Last Friday, Kenyan President William Ruto came to Berlin for a two-day visit as part of the Federal President’s Citizens’ Festival. On Friday afternoon, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his guest opened the festival under the motto ‘Pamoja – Stronger Together’, at which Kenya was the first non-European country ever to be an official partner country. Over two days, thousands of visitors were able to familiarise themselves with Kenyan culture and cuisine.
However, President Ruto’s meeting with Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz, at which a comprehensive migration and mobility agreement was signed between Germany and Kenya, made the headlines. The agreement is intended to open up new prospects for young skilled workers from Kenya in Germany and give Kenyan companies better access to the European market and greater integration into sustainable supply chains. At the same time, the repatriation of illegal immigrants is to be facilitated. Of the approximately 14,800 Kenyans currently living in Germany, around 800 are said to be without a valid residence permit.
While the German government sees the agreement, which has been negotiated over the last 12 months and is the first of its kind with an African country, as an important step in the debate on controlled migration and the immigration of skilled labour, it is causing intense debate in Kenya. Critical voices fear a so-called brain drain and are calling on the government to make greater efforts to create local jobs. Ruto, who has been promoting the secondment of labour as a solution to his country’s high youth unemployment rate since the beginning of his term in office, had also announced that the agreement would give around 250,000 young skilled workers the opportunity to work in Germany. However, this figure was immediately denied by the German government. Interior Minister Nancy Faeser clarified on Twitter that the agreement did not contain any concrete figures or information on quotas.
Although the Kenyan Foreign Ministry also endeavoured to correct the situation, the misleading communication was criticised on social media in particular. Not only were false expectations being raised, but the lack of transparency of the agreement was also criticised. Ruto, who is internationally recognised as an important player in East Africa, is already under massive domestic political pressure. The young population in particular, the Gen-Z, has repeatedly called for his resignation. Current poll results from the national television station Citizen TV indicate that over 90% of Kenyans are dissatisfied with Ruto and his government. In recent months, Gen-Z protests have taken place across the country, originally triggered by planned tax increases, which Ruto was forced to withdraw as a result of public pressure (Press Review CW 25/2024).
It remains to be seen to what extent the current migration and mobility agreement can actually contribute to a sustainable solution to the high youth unemployment rate in Kenya, which stands at 67 per cent among 15 to 34-year-olds. In any case, a job fair is planned for 27 September in Nairobi to provide information about the agreement and specific opportunities for working in Germany. Meanwhile, the first skilled workers under the new agreement began their training this week: Four bus drivers and one female bus driver from Kenya are joining Flensburg’s city bus services team as part of a pilot project.
In other news
This year’s prestigious Caine Prize for African Writing goes to the South African writer Nadia Davids for her short story ‘Bridling’. This is told from the perspective of an actress who, together with other women, stages works of art by men who portray women. In her short story, Davids explores the themes of power, rebellion, the often impossible constraints of being a girl and a woman and the attempts to free oneself from them. In its statement, the jury praised the story as a ‘triumph of language’ and jury head Chika Unigwe described ‘Bridling’ as a work that epitomises the diversity and richness of African literature. Nadia Davids, originally from Cape Town and now living in Los Angeles, writes short stories as well as novels, essays and plays, which have already been performed in South Africa and Europe. The Caine Prize, named after the English businessman Sir Michael Harris Caine, was established in 2000 to give African literature greater international visibility. This year’s award ceremony attracted a record 320 entries from 28 African countries. The prize is endowed with £10,000 and is awarded annually.