Damongo Communique: Democracy Not For Sale
The forum brought together the security services, academia, traditional authority, civic education, and local government, alongside a large and highly engaged public audience, to examine the growing influence of money in Ghana’s democratic processes. It was organised by the Impact Makers Foundation in partnership with Joy News and the Multimedia Group.
On Friday, September 25, 2026, the Democracy Not for Sale project held its third regional dialogue in Damongo, Ghana. This event was co-hosted by Joy News and the Multimedia Group, aimed at addressing the growing influence of money in Ghana's democratic processes. The dialogue brought together representatives from various sectors, including security services, academia, traditional authority, civic education, and local government, along with a large public audience.
The dialogue was based on extensive field survey data gathered by a research team across the Damongo area, involving over 90 interactions and 55 structured interviews. These findings marked the first time in the project's history that every single respondent had either personally witnessed or had credible reports of vote buying, a significant development in the project's fieldwork.
Notably, the survey revealed a unique age pattern regarding perceptions of money's influence on elections. In Damongo, the youngest age group (18-25) rated money's influence as high (6-10) more than any other age group. This was in contrast to most other regions where older respondents generally expressed greater conviction that money determined election outcomes.
Written by urgent.news from MyJoyOnline Ghana's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
