Yes, Tyrone and Imani, there is a Ghanaian center-right. Danquah Institute, a center-right think tank based in Accra, Ghana, pens an editorial in advance of U.S. President Barack Obama's visit to the country tomorrow: "President Obama’s visit to Ghana should give us all as Ghanaians deep pride in our country and in our international reputation. That our small West African nation has been chosen as the first in the whole [sub-Saharan] continent to be so honoured since Obama took power is not due to the work of any individual, group or party. It is instead the result of an achievement we have built as a whole people since 1992 in not only the reborn of democracy but successfully warring off the infant mortality that has put paid to too many of our continental contemporaries. We are right to feel proud of this achievement and President Obama is right to pay tribute to it. He is also right to recognise that the importance of our successful multi-party democracy reaches far beyond the 23 million people within our borders. It has profound significance for other African nations whose nascent democracies might yet falter and fall. It demonstrates that democracy can succeed in our continent, providing an example that can illuminate and inspire our continental kin, giving them the light to find their own way to the brighter future we all seek. And, that future is one of prosperity in freedom. Ghana is fortunate to have reached a deeper level of democracy than many African nations where polling day is marked by distrust and scepticism and followed by widespread violence over controversial results leading too often to ineffective governments. Here we have succeeded in holding five consecutive elections in the Fourth Republic and we have succeeded in changing the reigns of power from one political party to another twice now. But whilst we might be ahead of the pack, whilst we might lead the continent in the march towards democracy as we did 52 years ago, we still have a long road ahead of us and the future of our democracy is by no means certain."
More: "There is no guarantee that the main opposition party today will not assume the kind of dangerously militant posture and speak the kind of language that got Ghana so close to a Kenya. So, what happens if unlike 2008, the Opposition does not get its electoral way after the 2012 results are announced? To avoid this in 2012 we need to work much harder to build public faith and confidence in the nuts and bolts of our election machinery that, if properly organised, can ensure no room for inflammatory accusations of bias or tampering. We need to deny the rig-sayers the oxygen of legitimacy, with which to breathe fear, anger, hatred and venom into the lungs of the Ghanaian electorate. In 2008, the rig-sayers were helped by the admission on the part of the Electoral Commissioner that the voter register was massively bloated. South Africa, with a population of 47 million people, counted a voter population of some 12 million. Ghana, with a population of less than 23 million people, said it had a voter population of some 10 million. Not only does a bloated register give political parties the opportunity to rig elections, they also give rig-sayers the legitimacy to say to their supporters and sympathisers that they have been cheated and that they should stand up and resist – whether the claim is true or false. This is what characterised last year’s general elections in Ghana and Ghana, we dare say, was probably only saved by the fact that the results were called for the main opposition party and not for the incumbent government. How then do we secure the legitimacy of not only the electoral process in Ghana but also the victory of an incumbent government? This is of particular importance in countries like ours (and the US) where a virtual two-party system can produce victories based on razor-thin majorities, where a relatively small amount of rigging has the potential to dramatically change the result. Ghana is far from securing its current position as a model democracy for the majority of the continent. We need to do so and that process must begin now."
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