ELECTION PETITION: DISMANTLING THE PERCEPTION OF VOTE RIGGING IN NATIONAL ELECTIONS

Vote Rigging is a general term which includes voting by underage individuals, multiple voting, interference with boxes, exclusion of valid ballots by counting officers, and deliberate fraud in tabulating results. Of course to those in the political fraternity vote rigging is a common word. Those who truly know the game of politics understands that the game is all about winning and losing.

Generally, every election generates the perception of vote rigging most especially by the opposition party. Most of the time the argument is that the incumbent government has power over the Electoral Commission (EC) and as such they work hand in hand to rig the election in favor of the incumbent government.

A typical example of such a situation is the just ended election. Before the election was held on 7th of December 2020, the largest opposition party in the country, the National Democratic Congress (NDC ) made several statements which indicates that the Electoral Commission is in bed with Incumbent government (the Akuffo Addo led government) to rig the election in their favor. The likes of Sammy Gyamfi and Asiedu Nketia were on record for making such statements.

Another scenario is the 2016 elections where the NPP felt due to one or two irregularities during the election, it was rig in favor of the incumbent government the NDC and as such they proceeded to court to over turn the declared results. The idea that the then Vice President John Dramani could win the election after succeeding the late President John Evans Atta Mills just a year before the general elections created the perception that the election was rig in favor of the incumbent.

The truth of the matter is that, it is fair to acknowledge the fact that every party in opposition will automatically have the perception that an election could be rig in favor of the incumbent government. But for an independent body like the EC which is known for conducting free and fair elections to have their credibility and integrity in doubt even before the election says a lot. And to think of the number of irregularities that took place during the election, like the deployment of soldiers to Volta region which happens to be the strong hold of the opposition, the shooting at Techiman South, the changing of figures by the EC and the rest goes a long way to support the perception that the election was rig in favor of the incumbent government. Citizens and Politicians are likely to trust the Electoral Commission based on how transparent it works. I honestly think the work of the EC during the 2020 election strongly supports the perception of vote rigging before and after the election which has now landed us in court.

I sincerely believe that before the perception of vote rigging in national elections can be completely erased, the Electoral Commission, the media and politicians have a lot to do. One of the best way to tackle this perception is for the EC to prove beyond reasonable doubt that they still hold their objectives (Conducting Free and Fair Elections) in high esteem. The EC has to put mechanisms in place to win the trust and belief placed on them by the citizens and politicians alike.

I believe the EC has to take it upon themselves to put measures in place to gain the trust of Ghanaians by training good staff and it’s really essential to exclude candidates families. Election Tabulation should be done separately by two clerks, neither of them knowing each other. Also political parties should be allowed to have at least two agents at each station during election. The EC should enhance transparency which may require legal deployment of non-partisan observers. The EC can help in erasing the perception of Vote Rigging by having election management bodies that introduce mechanisms, which can be used as tools to undertake continuous monitoring of each electoral process. New methods have to be deployed by the EC to prevent it irregularities.

On the part of Politicians, Political good Will is a great factor in ensuring that this perception is been eradicated entirely. Adequate voter registers, level playing field, appropriate legal frameworks and adequate funding and other mechanisms can be put in place if there is a political will on the part of the opposition and the incumbent. But also an effective Electoral Commission and an appropriate legal framework are equally important.

Lastly the media as the fourth realm of the estate has a role to play in eradicating the perception of vote rigging in national elections. The media through agenda setting can educate the public on what constitutes vote rigging, how to legally tackle vote rigging without using violence, investigating allegations of vote rigging by Candidates and bringing the truth to light. I believe these mechanisms when put in place will go a long way in eradicating the perception of vote rigging in our national elections.

WE CREATE OUR OWN PROBLEMS LETS PREVENT THEM OR FIND A LASTING PANACEA

There is a saying that goes like “Black men with black mentality”. For once I have to admit this is not a mere say and growing up I got to know there is more to this saying. The truth of the matter is that the black people are responsible for creating their own problems.

We do things that beats our own imagination. The picture above was taken yesterday in Osu just in front of the Osu Children Library. The heap of sand and gravels have been there for a week now and nothing has been done about it. The most interesting part of it all is that there is a police station not far from the area and a lot of the officers use this same road.

I bare witness to the fact that several police officers have been using this road everyday and non of the them for once, even bothered to make enquiry as to why there is a heap of sand and gravels in the middle of a major road.

The only time we tend to find a panacea to issues like this is when there is an accident and people lose their lives. Just like we do with corruption in this country, instead of preventing it we allow it to take place and then try to find solutions. The country we live in.

These are the things drawing us back as a country and until we change our minds and mentality, we cannot move forward as a country. Every issue no matter how minor it is should be given the needed attention in order to prevent it from growing to become a major issue. We tend to ignore issues like this because we believe they pose as a minor threat to our lives until is too late.

If we want to build a better Ghana, we need to start by addressing these minor issues first because in the long run they tend to become the major issues that hinder our progress tomorrow. We can achieve our goals collectively that is the more reason why we need to share the same concerns on issues like this. We need to treat issues like this with urgency.

While taking pictures and videos on the street, I realized a lot of people were staring at me. After taking the pictures and videos, some of them approached me and surprisedly they all asked the same question, what I was going to do with the videos and pictures. I responded by saying I’m going to write an article with the pictures and videos. It was at that moment I realized almost all the people share the same concern and yet non of them was bold enough to voice it out.

I assured them I will do my very best to make sure something is done about it. It’s been a week now and nothing has been done about it, the police personnel who are responsible for our safety on the road use the same road when patrolling in the night and yet, they see nothing wrong with the fact that the heap of sand and gravel is placed right in the middle of the road.

As a country one of our major setbacks is ignorance and until we learn to deal with it we can never achieve our objectives. The truth is, we create our own problem and instead of finding lasting solutions we find excuses to cover them up. If those responsible for protecting our roads and ensuring our safety on these roads are finding excuses not to perform their duties, we as citizens have the obligation to see to it that our safety is ensured and we can only do that by putting our heads together as one people.

Sometimes the perception that we are not responsible for this or that has sent us to the level we find ourselves as a country. Let’s do well to collectively perform our duties as citizens for our own safety and shouldn’t wait for those we believe are responsible for doing them to do it for us. Ghana is our only home and nobody can make it better other than ourselves.

Those responsible for our safety and security will always find excuses it is left with us as individuals to work together to achieve a common goal. Going forward we should start paying more attention to the minor issues in this country and try to find lasting panacea to these issues.

Let’s start now. It is our civic duty to ensure our own safety.

Below is a video of the heap of sand and gravels in the middle of the road

The writer is a Freelance Journalist, A Columnist and a Student of the Ghana Institute of Journalism.

THE INFRASTRUCTURE DEBATE (IS GOOD FOR OUR POLITICAL DISCOURSE)

There is a proverb that goes like “what’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander”. I remember Clearly in 2016 when the then President of Ghana His Excellence John Dramani Mahama was touring the regions with a campaign message that the people of Ghana should give him a second tenure in office. The campaign message was simple, vote for me again based on my developmental projects.

It could be recalled that the New Patriotic Party at the time in opposition made mockery of John Mahama campaign message with some of the “Big Men” in the party making claims that the ordinary Ghanaian do not need infrastructure to develop or grow the economy.

“Would Ghanaians eat infrastructure?” Said one of the “Big Men” in the Party. This statement made it quite clear that it is obvious the NPP acknowledged the fact that the Mahama administration made massive progress in terms of infrastructure just that they don’t buy the idea that it is enough for the development of the economy.

According to the Opposition, Ghana needs more than infrastructures to develop and grow as a country. Their campaign message was about Free Senior High School, Growing the Ghanaian economy with double figures , Massive reduction in borrowing from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Planting for food and jobs and the rest. The New Patriotic Party through it campaign message were given power by the people of Ghana.

Shocking three and half years down the line and we are hear again. Is an election year and the various parties are putting measures in place to campaign for power. Surprisedly the NPP when in opposition made mockery of the fact that infrastructure can do little in the growth of the economy are now campaigning with the same message of infrastructure. Telling Ghanaians the number of development projects they have put in place since they took over from the NDC. This should tell you the ordinary Ghanaian the kind of game these politicians are playing with our minds.

The President stated clearly that this year’s election is all about track records. In short vote for the NPP or NDC based on their developmental projects (Infrastructure).
Replying to the statement made by the President, John Mahama decided to throw a challenge to the President by stating that the two of them should have a national debate on Infrastructure. A debate which in my opinion is very important to our political discourse as a country.
This debate if held will give Ghanaians the opportunity to access the performances of the two administration and based on that they can make their final decision as to who to vote for in this year’s election.

Shockley the NPP who claim to have the “Big Men” who are known to be great Squabblers and are maladaptive in nature decided against the debate thrown to them by the Ex President.
They surprisingly stated that debating the Ex President in terms of who has the best records with regards to infrastructure is not part of their campaign.

This left me wondering isn’t this the NPP that claim to stand for democracy ? This is an opportunity to prove it. Isn’t this an opportunity for the NPP to prove to Ghanaians that they have done more than enough in terms of infrastructure looking at the fact that they have already published the number of projects carried out under their administration. This debate gives

them the opportunity to prove with evidence the project they have already published. This debate gives them the opportunity to show Ghanaians the pitfalls in the Mahama administration in terms of infrastructure. This debate will give Ghanaians and other countries the opportunity to witness for the first time in our history two dominant parties locks horns on who has the best records in terms of infrastructure.

This, I believe will go along way to promote our democracy and give meaning to the fact that democracy is really for the people. The debate of politics of infrastructure will help to seal our place as one of the finest country that understands politics and democracy. I think the media should do well to push for this debate before the election is held on the 7th of December. The United State had a Presidential debate which gave meaning to democracy and I believe we should do same.
My message is simple the President should accept the challenge and let democracy speak.

The Writer is a freelance journalist, a Columnist and a student of the Ghana Institute of Journalism.