Renowned Political Analyst, Nana Ato Dadzie has underscored the need for political party leaders to be adequately prepared for a peaceful transition in the outcome of an election.
This follows studies indicating “not less than 60 percent of post-electoral crises are transition-based”
According to the former Chief of Staff under the erstwhile National Democratic Congress, most African countries lacked the experience to deal effectively with the transition processes.
Speaking on the “What Is Next” segment hosted by Rev Dr Opuni-Frimpong, Mr Dadzie said; “Suddenly when a political party comes into power, before they realise within four years, they have to be possibly handing over power to the next party coming. How do they prepare? That is really the question because most political parties do not prepare for transitioning and this is largely because, our leaders never expect to leave office”
“The preparation for transitioning is very important because, we cannot have a democracy without Democrats and these persons must have Democratic credentials and that they are elected by the people for a tenure with a mindset that a time will come for them to leave office,” he emphasized.
Mr Ato Dadzie also called for critical attention and investment from domestic and international stakeholders in support of the electoral systems.
He added, procedures and processes which had a deep influence on the inclusivity and transparency of the system must be in place.
This he explained will lead to the readiness to accept election results.