The policy seeks to restrict people undermining democracy
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The United States has instituted a new strategy to safeguard democracy in Ghana. It is in the form of a visa restriction policy which comes barely a month to the December 7 presidential and parliamentary elections.

“The Department of State is announcing a new visa restriction policy today that will restrict U.S. visas for any individual responsible for undermining democracy in Ghana. This policy will take effect in advance of Ghana’s presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled to take place December 7, 2024.”

According to a press release by Secretary of State, Antony J. Blinken, the “United States is committed to supporting and advancing democracy in Ghana and around the world. “

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The visa policy is focusing on the impending general election

The communiqué explained that the visa restriction policy would apply only to specific individuals who undermine democracy and is not directed at the Ghanaian people nor the Government of Ghana.”

“The United States’ readiness to impose visa restrictions if circumstances warrant is an example of our support for the aspirations of all Ghanaians for a peaceful, transparent, and credible electoral process that reflects the will of the people,” the October 28 statement added.

Find the rest of the statement below:

“This visa restriction policy is pursuant to Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, and allows the Department of State to implement visa restrictions for individuals believed to be responsible for, or complicit in, undermining democracy in Ghana, including through the manipulation or rigging of the electoral process; the use of violence to intimidate, coerce or prevent people from exercising their rights to freedoms of association and peaceful assembly; the use of measures designed to intimidate, coerce or prevent political party representatives, voters, or members of civil society or the media from voicing or disseminating their views; or engaging in any other activity designed to improperly influence the conduct or outcome of an election.  Certain family members of such persons may also be subject to these restrictions.  Persons who undermine democracy in Ghana — including in the lead-up to, during, and following Ghana’s 2024 elections may be found to be ineligible for visas under this policy.

Meanwhile, The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) has welcomed the new visa restriction policy announced by the United States, describing it as a significant development that will keep Ghanaian politicians on their toes.

Executive Director of MFWA, Sulemana Braimah,  also urged other western countries to apply similar modalities in place, suggesting that the move would ensure some accountability in Ghana’s politics as the US continues to be a major destination for Ghanaian travellers, and especially the politicians.

Sulemana Braimah welcomes the move

But international affairs expert, Prof. Vladimir Antwi-Danso, Dean of the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College,  has expressed worry over the visa restrictions policy, describing it as an attempt by the US to determine how democracy is formulated.

According to him, although a similar approach used in Nigeria produced some positive results, he urged Ghana and other nations to chart their democratic paths, cautioning against over-reliance on external models.

“The point is that how long will the US be the ones to determine how democracy should be formulated? I am very much worried over that,” he stated.

Prof. Vladimir Antwi-Danso

He stressed the importance of countries like Ghana establishing their own unique frameworks for democracy noting “What we need is to be able to draw our own contours of democracy,” adding that democratic practices cannot be dictated externally.

“Positive as though as this may sound, I think we need to be very careful about what we accept and don’t. The US is trying to be the Israel Dam where democracies are concerned but no two democracies are the same.”

Mr Antwi-Dando expressed concern about the potential for foreign interference in the governance of nations when electoral outcomes do not align with external interests.

“My fear is that if we always wait for the U.S. to draw the big stick, there is a possibility that when election results don’t favor them, they will use other parameters to measure the government and deny it the right to rule – just as they did in Venezuela.”

He added that the Venezuelan inference threw them into a state of chaos to date.