In rhetoric, a metaphor is a figure of speech that describes an object or action in a way that isn’t literally true, but helps to create a powerful image in the mind. It substitutes a complex reality with a simple, emotionally charged symbol. In politics, a metaphor becomes a shortcut: instead of debating policy, a party sells an image.
To understand Ghana’s 4th Republic, we must understand how metaphors and perception have shaped voter behavior.
Perception, in political psychology, is the process by which voters organise and interpret information to give meaning to their political environment. It is not necessarily reality, but it often feels more real than reality.
Many successful campaigns do not always win on facts; they win on which perception becomes dominant.
In the 2000 general elections, the dominant metaphor was insecurity. The atmosphere was defined by reports of mysterious deaths and a general sense of lawlessness. Whether statistically representative or not, that perception of insecurity became the lens through which many voters assessed the incumbent.
In the 2016 general elections, the dominant metaphor shifted to corruption and incompetence. That two-word framing became the shorthand for economic hardship, power outages, and governance challenges.
It was simple, repeatable, and ultimately decisive at the polls.
Now, as we approach the 2028 elections, a new metaphor appears to be emerging: drugs.
In recent weeks, public commentary by some political figures has suggested the alleged existence of drug laboratories and a growing drug trade in Ghana. This narrative, if allowed to take root without evidence, risks becoming the new metaphor – an attempt to frame the country as unsafe and to sway voter decisions through fear.
In a democracy governed by the rule of law, serious allegations demand serious proof.
A claim about the existence of drug manufacturing laboratories is not a matter for press conferences alone; it is a matter for national security investigation.
This will move this debate from perception to fact!
Hence, a two straightforward steps are available:
1. Substantiation: Any public figure who has alleged knowledge of the location or operation of such laboratories should formally lead the security agencies – the Narcotics Control Commission, the Ghana Police Service, and National Security – to those sites.
2. Invitation: Conversely, the security agencies, in line with their mandate to investigate all credible threats, should invite any person who has made such claims on the public record to assist them with specific, actionable information.
This process protects both the integrity of our security services and the intelligence of the Ghanaian voter. It separates a verifiable security issue from a campaign talking point.
The Ghanaian voter in 2028 is not the voter of 2000 or 2016!
Access to information is higher now!
Fact-checking is faster now! and the electorate is more discerning.
The consequences of metaphors in our politics is that the voter today feels insulted by campaigns built on innuendos rather than ideas.
The opposition has a constitutional and democratic duty to hold government accountable, but that duty is best discharged with a credible alternative vision. What are your policies on jobs, on cedi stability, on health financing, on education and road infrastructure? That is the campaign message befitting a serious opposition party.
To all political actors;enough of metaphors as substitutes for policy. The politics of perception may have won elections in the past, but it will not sustain a democracy.
The voter is wiser now.
By: Anatu Anne Seidu Bogobiri Esq.,
04/10/2026
