Reflections on the 2012 Elections in Ghana

Story: Kwaku Nti: [email protected]

The events following the 2012 December General Elections has left much to be desired as a nation especially when smaller parties and the main opposition party,which was beaten to the presidency by a total of 325,863 votes, has not conceded defeat. How can parties that insistthat the votes were rigged by the ruling party (the NDC) using the power of incumbency accept the results? The Progressive People’s Party (PPP), the National Democratic Congress (NDP) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) are alleging that the actual figures of their presidential candidates were not recorded for them. Instead they claim what the officials of the Electoral Commission (EC) and stooges of the ruling Democratic Congress (NDC) wanted was what was recorded.

While the PPP through its National Chairman, NiiAllottey Brew-Hammond, has decided to present to the public what they believe their candidate, Dr. Papa KwesiNduom, obtained in the presidential polls as against the little over 65,000 declared by the EC boss on Sunday evening, the flag bearer of the NPP, Nana AddoDankwaAkufo-Addo, has declared his party’s intention to contest the presidential polls resultsin the Supreme Court of Ghana.

They contend that the NPP has enough evidence to back their claims that results recorded at some ofthe polling stations are different from what the EC received at its headquarters in Accra. And instead of the Commission to consider the petition of the party, it decided to declare the results with the reason that any aggrieved party should head to the law court to challenge its output. Some including ace columnist, Cameron Duodu, have suggested the decision to contestthe polls qualify ‘for a preparation of the minds of the party supporters toward a reproduction of Volume II of the Stolen Verdict [first edition published in November 1992]. He further questions the relevance of the write-up which copy still remains at the Africana Reserve Collection of the famous Balme Library of the University of Ghana; “…did the NPP actually get its operatives to read that report? If they did, what lessons did they learn from the detailed instances of vote-rigging that were in there?”…are questions he raises in his works.

Author Duodu cannot be far from right when he says that the NPP is gradually becoming the Kumasi Asante Kotoko of Ghana’s elections which continuously accuse the referee of bias against them all the time. Well, this is not to doubt that concerns they raise can be legitimate which when addressed would help deepen the democracy of our time. An appreciable number of Ghanaians are for their decision to go to court to test the law other than resorting to violence as could have happened in other Africancountries. If the NPP’s allegations of rigging and change of figures, especially during the transfer of the results from the blue sheet to the white sheet is right, then Ghana must revisit the issue of integrity and sincerity of public officials and people trusted with the state’s money. And if it is proven otherwise, then NPP can likewise be likened to the farmer who continually cried wolf even when there was no wolf attacking his herd. Others have also called on the NPP, the NDP and the PPP to blame their polling agents for not beingvigilant on the Election Day — an argument which introduces into the topic the talk about polling agents and their relevance in a 21st century elections. If we continually encourage the use of polling agents at the polling centers, then we as a country have integrity problems, and cannot trust the people who govern us. Isn’t it possible for us as a country to develop a system of election which would help eliminate all these polling agents and unnecessary polling assistants where we can all trust?

Observing from afar the posture and comments of someNDC elements, one is tempted to believe there is some substance in the allegations against the EC. For a member of the government Communication Team, Lawyer KakraEssamoah, to insinuate that he would ‘support a coup against Nana Addo should he be declared president by a court of competent jurisdiction’ [source: myjoyonline.com] is extremely serious statement for anyone to make.

In the face of all these brouhaha on the elections, the EC and its Chairman, KwadwoAfari-Gyan, cannot be left out of the blame as he could have allowed reason to prevail through a decision to hold onto the results. Couldn’t Afari-Gyan have decided to announce to the nation that he was investigating the accusations of rigging brought before it by the NPP and subsequently called for calm in Ghana?

The logic that many in the country would have resorted to violence is neither here nor there and must not be entertained in the politics of this country; are the people who would resort to violence the only wise ones in the country and must be kowtowed to? It is just wrong for someone to do that and both supporters of the NDC and the NPP which did that in 2008 and 2012 respectively must be condemned.

After all, Dr.Afari-Gyan must know that no part of the constitution mandates him to declare the results in 48 hours; he chose to act according to his earlier word which he voluntarily told Ghanaians; and of course nothing prevented him from going against that pronouncement, especially in a case when one party expressed dissatisfaction.

We should abstain from going ahead every time to legalise the illegality in this country in the name of peace as a continual pile-up of the illogical and illegal against the legal would lead to our doom one day.