Abstract:
Elections in Ghana since 1992 have been associated with increasing features of
political vigilantism which are driven by structural factors such as mistrust
unemployment, and winner-takes-all (WTA) syndrome. This study therefore
explores the drivers of political vigilantism, the motivations and the actions of
vigilantes and the effects of the actions of vigilante groups on the security of
elections in the Odododiodio Constituency of Ghana. Theories of structuration,
horizontal inequality and clientelism underpin this study. Guided by the
interpretivist philosophy, the study dwells on qualitative approaches, by using
purposive and snowball sample techniques to solicit data from 18 respondents.
Vigilantes and residents in Odododiodio Constituency, security personnel,
officials of the Electoral Commission of Ghana (EC), Ghana Center for
Democratic Development (CDD-Gh), a security expert and a politician
constitute the stakeholders for this study. The data is analysed using narrative
analysis. This study contends that political vigilantism is driven by structural
issues coupled with people’sresponse (individual motivation) to these structural
factors. The outcomes are that vigilantes strategically adopt intimidation,
violence and destruction of electoral materials to ensure they secure power for
their political parties which consequently compromise the security of elections
in the constituency. The study identified the potential of regulations to
effectively curb vigilantism despite uncertainties as to its effectiveness. The
study concludes that managing political vigilantism is critical to security, peace
and development. Thus, it proposes that concerted efforts in the enforcement of
state laws against vigilantism devoid of personal interests and guaranteed
prosecution of offenders are necessary for the security of elections.
