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INTRODUCTION
Background of the study
In a path-breaking study on elections in emerging democracies with Ghana as a case study, Nugent, Jockers and Kohner (2009) establish that the view that Ghana’s elections have been successful is “a convenient myth”. They go ahead to identify “ethnic block voting” 1 and electoral fraud as playing significant, though far from exclusive responsibility. Some recent studies on African democratic election processes have also focused on vote buying and cash hand outs (Guardado & Wantchekon, 2017; Agomor & Adams, 2014). However, the incidence of vote selling by citizens which also play pivotal role during elections has not received much scholarly attention. Various scholars have provided different explanations for voting behaviour on the African continent resulting in the notion that some individuals have the ability to take control of the democratic electoral procedures of a nation. Pressure groups and petitioning are perceived as relevant elements to the appreciation of contemporary democratic dispensations. In this situation the statesmen and stateswomen incline to be self-confident that contests (Becker, 1983) and up-to-date voters (Grossman & Helpman, 1996) maintain the aftermath near to competence and not too subjective in favour of the dominant. Self-financed promotion of candidature is therefore the main observable factor of an effectively nonthreatening influencing procedure.
Interestingly, some researchers have argued that elections are mere ethnic roll calls or gatherings (Horowitz, 1985; Harding, 2013). Again, while some see ethnicity as a major determinant of voting behaviour (Fridy, 2006; Erdman, 2007; Bossuroy, 2009), others think that it does form part of the determinants but not the biggest (Arthur, 2009;
The two major political parties New Patriotic Party (NDC) AND National Democratic Congress (NDC) enjoyed massive support leading to clear wins in their core regions Ashanti and Volta in the 2008 elections
Whitfield, 2009). Others posit that elections in Africa are hugely characterized by clientelism and neo patrimonialism (Lindberg, 2003; Young 2009). However, the selling of votes as the exchange of money or other material benefits for voters’ support in up coming elections has in its interpretation some overt commercial underpinnings (Vicente, 2007). In effect, vote selling in this study is defined as voters or citizens offering their vote in a form of pledges to politicians or their agents as individuals or in small groups for money and or other material goods in exchange for electoral support(Vincente and Wantchekon, 2009). Ferree, Gibson, Hoffman and Long (2009) note that the dominant approaches in explaining voting behaviour in most African countries are either Identity voting (Ferree & Horowitz, 2007) or Policy voting (Hetcher 1975; Bates 1981; 2003).
This trend towards the strengthening of democracy on the African content provides a unique occasion to stimulate a comprehensive study on the demand side of elections which is vote selling as a precursor to voter behaviour. Vote buying practices is an indication of a vibrant violation of electoral impartiality that every election should exhibit (Carreras & Irepoglu, 2013). While there are certain arguments concerning the problems associated with the vote buying and selling of votes, there is some agreement that transactional electoral politics leads to a whole lot of challenges. For instance, buying of votes together with other kinds of clientelism undermine the typical answerability connection that is fundamental to democracy (Hicken, 2011; Kitschelt, Hawkins, Luna, Rosas, & Zechmeister, 2010; Carroll & Lyne, 2007; Stokes, 2005; Stokes, Dunning, Nazareno, & Brusco, 2013). This resulted in Brusco, Nazareno and Stokes (2004) definition of buying of votes as the presenting to voters and or citizens cash or small consumption goods by politicians, parties or agents in exchange for the vote of the receivers. In like manner, Finan and Schechter (2012) give their definition of vote buying as presented items to peculiar individuals or groups of individuals in the run up to an
election so that such individuals or groups will vote for them. Kramon (2009) defines it as the sharing of tangible or personal material aids with the anticipation that such individuals will give politicians political support. Due to the fact that this is normally reasonably a robust prerequisite in democratic countries, it is a necessary experimental question to pose whether efforts at vote buying are efficient in producing for politicians the votes they want.
Voting behaviour according to Bratton (2013) is a set of individual electoral happenings, which include involvement in political party campaigns, turnout at the polls (Agormor & Adams, 2015), and selecting who to vote for. Roth (2006) asserts that, a single model cannot explain voting behaviour due to its complexity. Therefore, three leading theoretical viewpoints have been expounded to deliberate on voting behaviour in the literature which include but not limited to Sociological theory (Lazarsfield, Berelson & Gaudet, 1944; Lipset, 1959, 1960), Psychosocial (Campbell, Converse, Miller & Stokes, 1960) and the Rational Choice theory (Downs, 1957; Fiorina, 1981, 2002; Key &
Cummings, 1966).
Since 1993, Ghana’s Fourth republic has had seven Parliaments and has witnessed the successful change of authority from one political party to the other in a peaceful atmosphere (Sithole, 2012). Ghana has made significant strides in institutionalizing multiparty system of democratic governance found within the structure and form of the 1992 Constitution. Undoubtedly, these noteworthy improvements in Ghana’s democratization have been advertised as one of the political success stories on the whole of the African continent (Gyimah-Boadi 2008; Whitfield & Jones 2008; Ninsin, 1998). More so, Nugent et al., (2009) note that peaceful and mostly transparent ending of Ghana’s 2008 elections was to a enormous level due to the strong obligation and dynamic involvement of Ghana’s media houses and civil society organizatons, who observed and made comments on the whole process of election with a high level of enthusiasm. Popular institutions, advocacy groups, religious and professional establishments and Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) created a remarkable stage for self-determining observation of the whole election process with the help of unconventional technology. Such technology were meant for periodic updates of both domestic and district results, corresponding vote tabulation using mobile phone text messages and resident radio stations. However, Mensah (2007) is of the view that the democratic improvement of Ghana is still very much a work in progress since some democratic discrepancies still persevere at all levels of governance.
A recent Afro barometer survey data was used to do an evaluation of the factors that determine voting for over 17,000 voting age individuals in ten Sub Saharan African (SSA) countries (Kuenzi & Lambright, 2005) and they establish that factors involving several strategies help explain which kinds of people vote in African elections. Groups working to gather people to come round and vote also play an essential role in showing who actually votes in African elections. Some behaviours, like level of interest in political issues or discussions as well as the kind of exposure the person has, also have a bearing on individuals’ choices of whether to vote. Within the demographic factors, age of voters constantly shows an affirmative connection with voting. Again, the socio- economic circumstances and the type of institutional functions are available determines whether one will vote or not. and socio-economic. Democratization is the modification to a more representative political regime. It may be the changeover from an undemocratic regime to full democracy, an evolution from a dictatorial political system to a semi-democracy or conversion from a semi-authoritarian political system to a democratic political system. Election observers declare that more than half of elections held on the African continent are largely free and fair. Voter turnout, moreover, was relatively high, averaging sixty-
four percent (Bratton, 1998). For instance, Bratton noted that in 14 cases, general elections marked the beginning of a peaceful transfer of power from one president to another (Bratton, 1998). The launching of private newspapers and the right of opposition to hold rallies all attest to the gains made under democratic regimes (Joseph, 1997).
Multi-party systems of representative governance are ascertaining to become a mixed basket of products across the length and breadth of Africa and not making Ghana an exception. Whereas elections are supposed to hold in place an enduring democracy, in some countries, elections have become a deficit to democracy itself (Ogbeidi, 2010). Their contention is that the level of superiority of an election comprises one of the precursors for intensifying democratic governance. According to Hayward (1987), Beetham (1994) and Parekh (1993), the conduct of elections should be done in conformity with the democratic environment that is all adult citizens are permitted to vote; the electoral competition is liberalized to enable political parties to compete; voters are given the chance to vote according to choice and the ballot papers are counted and the winner declared.
This study explores ways in which the attitude of vote selling contributes to weak implementation of policies and underdevelopment in the Ashaiman Constituency in the Greater Accra Region.
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