December 7 Elections, what is the way forward?

By Charles Neequaye, a Journalist

Political tension, Forensic audit of Electoral Register, the Electoral Commission and December 7 Elections, what is the way forward?

“Coming events, they say cast their shadows, and there is no smoke too without fire.” “Prevention, our elders say, is better than cure  and to be forewarned is to be forearmed.” These and many other quotations are timely warnings and cautionary statements hanging on the necks of Ghanaians, especially politicians and stakeholders in the upcoming December 7, 2024 elections, in view of the volatile political atmosphere in the country. 

This country is treading on dangerous ground, with barely two months for the general election to select a President and Parliamentarians, to govern this country.

The atmospheric barometer is gradually heating up with a rising political tension in the country, especially between the two major political parties, the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the largest opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).  The Electoral Commission (EC), an independent body in whose hands the country’s electoral processes have been bestowed, is also making matters worse as the nation journeys towards the December 7, 2024 elections. 

Indeed, if the current tension in the country is not well managed, any mistake can blow up the situation into higher proportions that can be difficult to contain, in a country which is noted for its high reputation on the African continent, in terms of peace and harmony. Ghana is really sitting on a time bomb, ready to explode at the least opportunity, and unless our politicians, and for that matter those who are desirous and anxious to lead and manage this country, do their homework well, the people who are at the receiving end, will suffer the consequences. 

Politics in Ghana is now assuming a different level or dimension, with politicians craving for power either by fair or dubious means. If this country should enjoy free, fair, and transparent elections, come December 7, 2024, then much depends on the Electoral Commission to ensure, that the processes regarding the elections are well handled, devoid of malfeasance and malpractices, so that whoever emerges winner through the will of the people will be accepted without any protestation whatsoever from any quarter.

Anything short of that will throw our dear country into a state of anarchy, violence, and instability. God forbid, this is not what Ghanaians are yearning for, and therefore the Electoral Commission must put its acts together and do the needful, so that this country can remain intact to enable the people to enjoy the necessary peace they deserve. The NDC, at a meeting held on September 6, 2024, highlighted specific issues with the Provisional Voters Register and urged the EC to undertake a forensic audit to address their concerns. They complained that quite a sizeable number of voters have been transferred to other constituencies or voting centres rather than where they registered without their consent or knowledge. That anomaly was brought to the notice of the Electoral Commission by the NDC.

In view of the magnitude of the anomaly, the NDC requested that if these mistakes are rectified through forensic audit, the voters register should be re-exhibited to enable those who were affected to cross-check their names in the register. Truly, the EC has admitted that there are such anomalies in the register and that it has initiated processes to correct them and also to clean the register. However, it countered the demands of the NDC for forensic audit of the register, emphasising that the current process to rectify the problem was adequate and well-established. It explained that the process, which had been in place since 1992, was robust and aligned with legal requirements outlined in the Constitutional Instrument on Registration of Voters (CI. 91 as amended by CI. 126). 

The Commission therefore described the call by the NDC for a forensic audit of the voters register as misguided and unnecessary. According to Mr. Samuel Tettey, Deputy Chairman of the Commission in charge of Operations, such an audit would not add any value to the EC’s established processes for strengthening the voters register, indicating that the Commission would still be responsible for fixing the register even after such an audit had been concluded. 

This is where the problem lies, and unless the EC can tell Ghanaians, that it has something to hide as far as the upcoming elections are concerned, then what stops the Commission from agreeing for the register to be audited forensically to make it more perfect, credible, and acceptable to all parties involved in the electoral process for peace to prevail. 

The EC should by now know that it is an independent and neutral body as far as its duties of organisation of elections in this country are concerned.

The way the Commission is behaving gives room for people to suspect that it is favouring a particular political party to have advantage over other political parties, and that is not the best and surest way to go.

The protestations and demonstrations have started across the country against the EC. Well-meaning and eminent personalities, including religious leaders in the society, continue to advise the Commission, headed by Madam Jean Mensah, to adhere to the NDC’s request for forensic audit and it must accept it now to keep the country safe and intact.

A stitch in time, saves nine!

More here