Selective enforcement of Act 999 could entrench impunity, undermine democracy – Election Watch Ghana

The Executive Director of Election Watch Ghana, Ms. Rose Austin, has warned that perceived selective enforcement of Ghana’s Vigilantism and Related Offences Act, 2019 (Act 999), could undermine public confidence in state institutions and create an environment in which political impunity becomes entrenched.

She said where political actors or affiliated groups perceived themselves to be protected from accountability because of their political connections, the fight against political vigilantism could become increasingly difficult, posing a threat to Ghana’s democratic governance and the rule of law.

Ms. Austin made the remarks at a Civil Society Organisation’s National Policy Dialogue on political vigilantism organised by Election Watch Ghana at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) in Accra on Tuesday, August 25, 2026.

The high-level engagement brought together representatives of government, security agencies, political parties, civil society organisations, traditional authorities, academia, and the media to assess the effectiveness of Act 999 seven years after its enactment.

‘Selective application weakens public confidence.x

Ms. Austin said the passage of Act 999 was a significant milestone in Ghana’s democratic journey because it represented a collective national resolve that political competition should never degenerate into violence, intimidation, coercion, or the establishment of partisan structures operating outside legitimate state authority.

However, she said serious concerns remained over the implementation and enforcement of the law.

“Perception of selective application of the law, particularly where political actors or politically affiliated groups are involved, has the potential to undermine public confidence in our security and justice institutions,” she said.

According to her, whether such perceptions result from actual institutional failures or weaknesses in public communication and accountability, they could not simply be dismissed.

She stressed that confidence in the impartiality of public institutions was itself a national asset.

“Where citizens perceive the law to be applied selectively, the credibility of the rule of law is weakened. Where perpetrators believe that political affiliation can provide protection from accountability, impunity becomes entrenched,” she said.

Ms. Austin further warned that entrenched impunity could create conditions in which political vigilantism becomes normalized or formalised.

‘This is not a fight against any political party.x

The Election Watch Ghana Executive Director insisted that the campaign against political vigilantism should not be interpreted as an attack on any particular political party.

Rather, she said, it was a struggle to protect the integrity of Ghana’s democratic system.

“Political vigilantism is not merely a partisan or electoral issue. It is a matter of national security, democratic governance, public order, and the rule of law,” she stated.

She warned that the existence or proliferation of political vigilante groups created the possibility of parallel coercive structures operating alongside, and sometimes in competition with, legitimate state security institutions.

Such groups, she said, could intimidate citizens, disrupt political activities, interfere with electoral processes, threaten political opponents, and undermine the fundamental freedoms upon which democratic participation depended.

Vigilantism threatens civic participation

Ms. Austin said political intimidation had consequences beyond election-related violence because it could directly affect citizens’ willingness and ability to participate in democratic processes.

“Where citizens are afraid to participate in political activities because of threat or intimidation, democracy suffers,” she said.

She added that where political actors believed the use of force could give them an advantage over opponents, democratic competition would become distorted.

She also warned that when citizens lost confidence in the ability of the state to protect them impartially, trust in democratic institutions would begin to erode.

Civil society calls for measurable action

Ms. Austin said Election Watch Ghana considered itself not merely an observer of Ghana’s electoral and democratic processes but a stakeholder and partner in strengthening democratic governance.

She said civil society organisations had a legitimate responsibility to monitor implementation, build consensus, facilitate dialogue, promote civic education, and advocate institutional reforms where necessary.

She therefore urged participants at the dialogue to move beyond assigning blame or pursuing partisan interests.

“Our role is to ask difficult questions, to examine the evidence, to listen to the perspective of relevant institutions and stakeholders, and most importantly, to contribute to identifying practical solutions,” she said.

Three key objectives

Ms. Austin outlined three principal objectives for the National Policy Dialogue.

The first was to undertake a candid assessment of what had worked and what had not worked since the enactment of Act 999.

The second was to identify legal, institutional, operational, and political bottlenecks undermining the effective implementation of the law.

The third, which she described as perhaps the most important, was to develop concrete and measurable actions for government, political parties, security agencies, civil society organisations, traditional authorities, academia, the media, and other relevant stakeholders.

She cautioned that the engagement should not end merely with speeches, expressions of concern, or commitments on paper.

Instead, she called for commitments that could be followed up and for which institutions and stakeholders could be held accountable.

‘Democracy is not sustained by elections alone.x

Ms. Austin further stressed that Ghana’s democratic credentials must be protected through more than the conduct of periodic elections.

She noted that the country’s peaceful elections, constitutional transitions, vibrant civil society, active media, and strong culture of political participation were achievements worth protecting.

“But democracy is not sustained by election alone,” she said.

According to her, democracy also depends on the rule of law, institutional integrity, political tolerance, accountability, respect for human dignity, and the peaceful resolution of political differences.

She warned that allowing political parties, whether in government or opposition, to resort to, tolerate, or benefit from organised groups using intimidation and violence as instruments of political competition would put the foundations of Ghana’s democracy at risk.

Call for shared responsibility

Ms. Austin called on political parties to take responsibility for the conduct of their members and affiliated groups, while urging security agencies to enforce the law professionally, impartially, and without fear or favour.

She also called on government to provide the necessary institutional and legal support for effective implementation of Act 999.

Civil society, she said, must continue to monitor, advocate, educate, and hold institutions accountable, while the media must continue to illuminate issues of public interest responsibly and courageously.

Traditional and religious leaders, she added, must use their considerable moral authority to promote peace, tolerance, and national cohesion.

Citizens, meanwhile, must reject political violence irrespective of which political party might appear to benefit from it.

From rhetoric to accountability

Ms. Austin concluded with a strong call for stakeholders to translate national concern over political vigilantism into concrete action.

“Let us therefore move from consent to action, from rhetoric to accountability, and from commitment on paper to measurable implementation,” she said.

She stressed that the preservation of Ghana’s peace and democratic stability was not the responsibility of one institution, political party, or sector of society but a shared national responsibility.

The National Policy Dialogue forms part of renewed civil society efforts to assess Ghana’s response to political vigilantism and identify practical measures to strengthen democratic governance, institutional accountability, and the rule of law.