Only the Lazy Parties Have Been Disqualified

The deadline given by the Electoral Commission to all the political parties elapsed last Thursday with some of them failing to meet the requirements for filling and submitting their nomination forms. This led to their disqualification, leaving eight parties to contest for the Presidency this December.

As expected, some of the parties disqualified have threatened to drag the Electoral Commission to court claiming they have been given a raw deal. However, as far as the ‘Daily Post’ is concerned, their claims are infantile and hogwash.

The Electoral Commission did not give any of the political parties a head start in the filling and presentation of the nomination forms which will turn the prospective flag-bearer into a Presidential Candidate. Not even the NDC, who suffered the grievous tragedy of losing its elected flag-bearer, the late President Mills, was given extra days to meet the requirements of the Electoral Commission. So, how come that by the deadline, some of the parties were found wanting?

The Electoral Commission had repeatedly announced that it was not going to postpone the deadline for the submission of the filled nomination forms. Yet, some the parties did not take the warning seriously because obviously, they are not serious. If they cannot on schedule fulfil the condition of the Electoral Commission, then it simply means they cannot govern the country. Which is easier; correctly filling and presenting nominations forms on time or governing over 25 million Ghanaians from diverse backgrounds?

As far as we are concerned, those who failed to present their nomination forms on time are lazy political parties who should not be allowed to play with the destiny of this country. Some of them, failed to prioritize their activities—instead of filling their nomination forms and making it ready for presentation, they chose to be addressing press conferences and hopping from radio station to radio station blowing their horns about how they were going to win the elections because talk is cheap!

We are calling on the Electoral Commission to ignore their effusion. They are lazy political parties who must not be allowed to play with the emotions and destiny of Ghanaians. They do one deserve an extra second or minute let alone a day to complete filling their forms and submit it. By the fruits they have produced, we can tell how they will mess the country up even if given the opportunity to rule for a day. They remind us of the wise and foolish maidens Jesus commented about in one of his parables. According to the Gospel of Matthew 25:1-13, the five maidens who were prepared for the bridegroom's arrival were rewarded, while the five who were not prepared were excluded from his marriage feast. The parable has a clear eschatological theme: be prepared for the Day of Judgment.

So it should be with our politics. Those who are prepared for the elections should take part in the elections. Those who are not prepared should be excluded. The latter are political parties full of froth with no substance.

The EC must go ahead with its time table to ensure that come December 7, the elections will come on as scheduled. The threat of a court action is the threat of still-born parties and moribund ones. Ghana must not have time for dreamers!