Social Media and Participation in Ghana’s 2016 Elections

Abstract

The chapter contextualizes the evolving democratic credentials of social media as a contemporary tool in broadening the participatory principle of Ghana’s multiparty democracy. In order to unravel the efficacy of this emerging phenomenon, the chapter deployed relevant theories, concepts and methods and engaged with empirical arguments to establish the nexus between social media, democracy, participation and engagement. These empirical analyses and discussions produced a point of convergence—democratization of communication for active participation of citizens. It is argued that social media as a participatory and mobilizing platform for electoral democracy does not take away the vital role of traditional media in Ghana’s democratic process. Also of value are the concerns of civil society for a regulatory framework to guide the use of social media before, during and after elections to curb the propagation of unsubstantiated information on these platforms.