Social media has become a powerful tool that makes or breaks. With the tension building up towards the 2012 elections in Ghana, Charles Benoni Okine reports on how this new trend can help ensure free and fair elections.
A Nigerian lecturer at the African University College of Communications, Mr Ogochukwu Chidiebere Nweke, has called on Ghanaians to seriously consider the use of social media to ensure successful elections in the country come December 7, 2012.
According to him, the credentials of Ghana when it comes to democracy has made it an attractive investment destination, an achievement which also benefits countries such as Nigeria among others and therefore, there is the need for the electorate to capitalise on the power of social media to jealously guard that credential.
In an exclusive interview with the Graphic Business, Mr Nweke, used the Nigerian example as a test case saying; “The involvement of the Nigerian youth and users of social media saw to it that the 2011 elections were free and fair for the first time in the history of the nation”.
He mentioned for instance, Facebook and Twitter in particular as the friendliest platforms which many are used to and noted that with many Ghanaian on those platforms, they could use it to help the process.
According to him, Smart phones were the main tools used to access the various social media platforms adding that “when the INEC (Independent National Electoral Commission) noticed how the social media was being used, it also came on the platform to present Nigerians not just with the opportunity to participate in governance as far the elections were concerned by answering thorny questions raised by the electorate”
“The social media gave Nigerians the grounds to believe that there is a way to ensure accountability and a “free and fair” election process;
It gave them so much faith, that the 2011 elections recorded the highest turn out of voters since 1983”, he added.
Mr Nweke said the “Nigerian youth who hitherto did not believe that their votes counted for anything, were the ones who came out to their polling stations hours before the elections to queue and wait for their turn to vote”.
“So, Facebook and Twitter as simple as they are became the platform upon which the destiny of Nigeria was decided”, he said.
He noted, however that, “It did not negate the traditional ways of doing things (whether in the media or with society in general), but it provided another platform which drove the point home, that Nigerians and Africans can get it right with anything they want to achieve.”
“It also silenced detractors and many sections of the internal media which had the sole intention of reporting that the elections were violent but to all intense and purposes it was free and fair”, he said.
Mr Nkweke said; “The outcome of that election process, was not victory for PDP, but victory for all Nigerians”.
About social media
Social media has, in recent times become one of the major sources through which people reach each other. All day and night, people use social media to send information to friends, locate old friends, market their products and others use it as a devotional tool to reach people with the word of God.
Social media includes web- and mobile-based technologies which are used to turn communication into interactive dialogue among organisations, communities, and individuals.
According to socialbakers, a popular website, Facebook monitoring also helps to improve people’s business and social media marketing strategy in every country.
Currently, there are 1,411,160 Facebook (FB) users alone in the Ghana, which makes it 73rd in the ranking of all Facebook statistics by Country although the the total cellular/mobile voice subscriber base in Ghana as at July, 2012 stood at 23,658,697 in July as against 23,370,773 in June, according to the National Communications Authority (NCA).
In terms of penetration, it is 5.80 per cent in Ghana in relation to the country's population, and 108.80 per cent in terms of the number of Internet users. The total number of FB users in Ghana is reaching 1,411,160 and grew by more than 209440 in the last 6 months.
In Ghana, political parties are not sparing this unique platform as all the Presidential candidates can now be found on Facebook and Twitter in particular.
They are using it for their campaigns and are posting their messages on their blocks from where they receive positive feedback.
In other advanced democracies, political parties have used social media not only to spread their political ideology but to raise funds to campaign, a typical example being President Obama who used the social media to reach the grassroot people to contribute towards his campaign.
Why social media
Since 1992 when Ghana adopted the fourth republican constitutions, the Electoral Commission (EC) has always come under severe fire from political parties, notably, those in opposition. They complain that the EC has allowed itself to be used by the ruling party to manipulate figures in the strong room to win the elections.
But in one of such rebuttals, the most celebrated Chairman of an electoral commission in Ghana, Mr Afari Gyan, has maintained that it is not possible for any political party to manipulate figures when the results have been submitted to the EC headquarters from the various constituencies.
How social media can helpThe total cellular/mobile voice subscriber base in Ghana as at July, 2012 stood at 23,658,697 in July as against 23,370,773 in June. It is expected that this figure will hit the 24 million mark and beyond by Election Day.
This means that at least every electorate (13 million according to the EC) has a phone.
Without mischief, there are a number of things people can do with their phones to assist the process to be smooth and be one without violence in any form.
First, the electorate can take photos of the election process at polling stations and even record the declaration of the results mentioned for each party and put them on social media for the world, that is, their friends within Ghana and abroad to monitor the process. This can also be used to compare against the figures as they will be released at the constituency collation level and also at the national level.
Second, the electorate can use the power of their phones to record any violent acts or suspicious activities at every polling station or the collation centre and send them on Facebook or Twitter for the world to see.
Third, the phones can also be used to make calls to radio and television stations to report violent acts that can mar the beauty of the elections and cause mayhem. Most of the television and radio stations are also on social media and, once verified, can post them online.
It is necessary to note that the world keenly follows Ghana’s elections and therefore, the international radio will also be interested in such videos to put on their platform. It is happening in Syria and it was what helped spark the uprising in Tuninsia, Egypt and the other Arab countries.
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