MORALIZING AN ELECTORAL CRISIS: The Rhetoric of Moral Words in Ghana’s 2020 Election Dispute

At the core of political performances is always a question of power performed through varied rhetorical acts. However, the question of whether political performances must be necessarily moral has attracted varied responses. This chapter reflects on the intersection between power, morality, and rhetoric in party politics with a specific focus on electoral crisis moments, considering how politicians use moral registers to negotiate the complexities of power in such situations. To illustrate my argument, I examine John Mahama’s speeches rejecting the results of Ghana’s 2020 elections. The analysis highlights three core rhetorical patterns: the intricate significations of individual and collective ethos as (de)legitimization strategies, the tension between articulated and unarticulated power, and finally, the appeal to the ethical allure of democracy. It concludes that this case is but one of the many cross-cultural examples that provide crucial material for reflecting on the ethico-rhetorical imaginations of contemporary democracy, its processes, and contestations in specific contexts.