Jean Mensa
In about two weeks, Ghana will be at the polls, for the ninth elections since the advent of the Fourth Republic.
It is the expectation of Ghanaians that the Jean Mensa-led Electoral Commission (EC), will once again conduct a free, fair, credible and transparent Election 2024.
Already, the EC has dispatched electoral materials to the regions for hassle-free polls to the satisfaction of all the stakeholders. During COVID-19, the EC was able to conduct a very successful election in 2020, although the John Mahama-led National Democratic Congress (NDC) contested the outcome of the polls at the Supreme Court.
In 2020, in the midst COVID-19, the EC put in the structures for the elections, including the compilation of the voters’ register, during which period the naysayers chided Jean Mensa, the Chairperson and her team, for putting the lives of prospective voters at risk. Thankfully, the exercise was conducted without major hitches.
Those who went to court because of their grievances and protests against the re-election of President Akufo-Addo had their day in the Supreme Court, and the judges reaffirmed the good work of the EC.
Fast forward we are in 2024 and yet another occasion has presented itself for the people to choose their elected representatives as President of the Republic and Members of Parliament (MPs) for the 276 constituencies. The processes leading to this day, were without controversies and protests, although the EC carried all stakeholders along the journey, including engagements at the Inter Party Advisory Committee (IPAC). Despite the elaborate consultations made by the EC, the opposition NDC picked issues with the Commission, challenging the credibility of the provisional voters’ register.
As the name suggests, the provisional voters’ register was not the final electoral roll for the December 7 polls, but the NDC said the provisional voters’ register was not fit for purpose. The party’s leadership even incited its supporters to take to the streets in all regional capitals and in Accra to raise concerns about the electoral roll and even call for a forensic audit.
When eventually the EC decided to meet with the political parties for them to raise their concerns, which were televised live by the national broadcaster, GTV, the NDC led by Omane Boamah could no longer articulate its case for a forensic audit.
It took the late Akua Donkor, a few minutes to demolish the NDC’s argument, and ever since, their arguments about the electoral roll has remained mute. The NDC which is fighting anybody who disagrees with its demands recently raised issues with the serial numbers on ballot papers sent to certain regions, as if it was the party that detected the anomaly, until the EC exposed their lies and propaganda.
The EC as a human institution can make mistakes, and that is why it has put in place mechanisms to detect the anomalies and correct them on time to ensure that the stakeholders have confidence in the processes for the conduct of free, fair, credible and transparent elections.
We have no doubt in our minds that the EC will once again rise to the occasion to conduct the December 7 polls in a very peaceful manner devoid of controversies.
The EC is a very credible and efficient electoral body in Africa, if not the best, whose conduct of eight elections since 1992 make Ghana the beacon of democracy in the world.
All eyes are on Ghana again to conduct yet another peaceful elections and the EC cannot afford to fail. It has done it before and we believe the task ahead is not beyond the competencies of Jean Mensa and her team.
The conduct of elections is a collaborative endeavour, and for which reason the EC requires the cooperation of all stakeholders to succeed.
The National Election Security Taskforce led by the Inspector General of Police, Dr. George Akuffo Dampare and other security agencies must protect all voters and indeed all Ghanaians from any let or hindrance on Election Day.
Those who will want to cause trouble and thereby mar the peace in the country must be caged to allow peace-loving people to participate in the exercise to select our leaders.