Low levels of normalized political violence, but candidates not deterred: elections for parliament in Ghana

Since the onset of the Fourth Republic in 1992, Ghana – an emerging democracy in West Africa – has had an impressive record of largely peaceful national elections and alternations of political power every eight years. But with only 14.5 percent women in parliament in 2020 – the highest percentage ever during the Fourth Republic – a more representative and inclusive national legislature has eluded the country. A literature on violence against women in politics suggests that political violence against candidates could be one factor discouraging women from standing for political office. This paper seeks to understand the form and scope of political violence in Ghana and whether it is gendered. Our data consist of 400 surveys of elected and non-elected candidates for parliament in the 2020 election and 40 follow-up semi-structured, in-depth interviews. Initial findings indicate that nearly all candidates, male and female, experience the lowest level of political violence – degrading talk or false rumors – with women only slightly more likely to experience this type of political violence than men. Other forms of political violence are much less prevalent around elections in Ghana, though somewhat more likely to be experienced by women. At the same time, both male and female candidates – in largely the same numbers – have come to expect some of most forms of political violence during national elections. Still, we did not find that political violence against candidates – male or female – deters them from standing for political office.