John Mahama
Former President John Mahama and his party are eagerly awaiting the verdict of the Supreme Court about the fate of the old voters’ identification card. The anxiety is being shared by others anyway.
Going to court for adjudication on thorny electoral matters is good for which the National Democratic Congress (NDC) should be commended in this regard provided this is shrouded in total sincerity.
What is not good because it is uncivil is the tendency to beat war drums and threaten disobedience when there are issues to be resolved as they simultaneously head for the courts.
When the leadership of the party with the tacit approval of the former President is encouraging its supporters to undermine the registration process, it loses the reverence of right-thinking Ghanaians.
Orderliness is ensured in societies by the existence of the rule of law and the total reverence for state institutions by all citizens.
Having turned to the courts, the party shouldn’t have sent emissaries to the hinterland to go and spew lies with the intention of creating fear and panic among the good citizens of this country ahead of the commencement of the registration exercise.
The former President and his team are cutting the picture of a befuddled gang of politicians who do not have much confidence in the judiciary hence their two-pronged approach to their electoral agenda.
The former President should have told us what his criteria for credible polls are. We would, for instance, want to know whether credible elections are those hinged upon a voters’ register, with mostly Amadu Sule tampered details. Charlotte Osei told Ghanaians this when they washed their dirty linens in public.
Electoral registers are not compiled once as the NDC seeks to impress upon Ghanaians, because the roll has been replaced multiple times in the political life of the country.
The many reforms which have enhanced the integrity of our electoral process were prompted by calls which came about with the NDC kicking against such changes anyway.
This time round, the EC is leading the charge for the enhancement of the electoral process using the latest technology to generate a new roll.
We do not want to believe that the former President would rather we returned to the old days of opaque ballot boxes and pictureless voters’ card.
The old order is being changed not only because we want to be abreast of modern trends but also because there is the need to deliver free and fair elections as the former President claims he wants.
Of course, the former President has the right to reject a flawed electoral process. With no flawed process in sight we can assure him that he should be rest assured that the coast is clear for the most credible polls in the annals of the country polls.
The former President wants to be mischievous about the elections in which he is showing signs of being the underdog because most Ghanaians are going to disapprove of him hence his remarks during the party activity in which he was, of course, the star performer.