WASSCE SHS
An election chooses who will hold office. It is free when voters can choose without fear. It is fair when the rules and the count treat candidates alike.
A credible election needs a register of voters, a secret ballot, known rules, access for candidates to campaign, an impartial body to run the poll, and a count that candidates can observe. In Ghana the Electoral Commission organises national elections. Universal adult suffrage means adult citizens have the vote, without a property or sex qualification. The secret ballot means nobody can see how you marked the paper, which is what makes intimidation harder.
Problems the syllabus expects you to discuss include violence, a flawed register, unequal access to the media, and misuse of state resources by incumbents. Remedies include an independent commission, a clear law, observers, punishment of offenders, and civic education. Do not claim a particular past election was stolen unless you are citing a finding you can name. The question is almost always about conditions, not about a rumour.
Free and fair are related and not identical. Free is about the voter's choice. Fair is about equal rules. A secret ballot serves freedom. An impartial commission serves fairness. Name the body if the question is about Ghana: the Electoral Commission. Functions should be organising the poll, registering voters, educating citizens and declaring results, not "helping the government win".
These are practice questions in the style of the paper, with a model answer and a mark scheme. They are not a promise of what your paper will ask.
4 marks
State four conditions of a free and fair election. (4 marks)
A secret ballot, an accurate voter register, an impartial body to conduct the poll, and an equal chance for candidates to campaign.
2 marks
State two functions of an electoral commission. (2 marks)
It registers voters and it conducts the poll and the count.
2 marks
Why does a secret ballot reduce intimidation? (2 marks)
Nobody can know how a voter marked the paper, so a threat to punish a particular choice cannot be carried out from the ballot itself.
More questions on this topic are inside GLearn, marked as you answer, with the reason written out. The first ones need no account.
Practise Government freeVoters can choose without fear, the ballot is secret, the register is credible, candidates can campaign, and an impartial body runs the count in the open. In Ghana that body is the Electoral Commission. One of these alone is not the whole idea.
The right of adult citizens to vote, without a qualification of property, sex or class. It is one condition of a democratic election. It still needs a secret ballot and an honest count if the right is to mean a real choice. All WASSCE Government past questions