Political Economy of Vigilantism in Ghana’s 2020 General Election

This chapter contributes to an understanding of the political and economic dynamics of vigilantism in African elections. It problematises political vigilantism, interrogates undercurrents of the phenomenon and shows its trends before, during and after Ghana’s 2020 election. Contextualising the analysis within the political-economic governance framework, the chapter proceeds on the assumption that both economic and political motives shape individual actors’ and political parties’ actions. It employed a desk study design, and the data for the analysis were drawn from multiple sources such as textual studies, journal articles, published documents, social media platforms, online portals and newspapers. Political and economic governance theories advocate the importance of trust for democratic legitimacy and stability in modern nation-states. Building on this view, the chapter argues that the lack of economic and political accountability in Ghana contributes to political vigilantism. It concludes that events that took place before, during and after the declaration of the 2020 elections indicate that political vigilantism is prevalent in Ghana. Hence, there is a need for continuous national discussions on the issue to proffer solutions to the problem.