It is relieving that sanity has eventually returned to the Electoral Commission (EC) and the good old coat of arms has taken its rightly place in the physical image of the elections management department of state.
It is unsurprising that the cultic image was short-lived; a country which is hinged on God cannot have one of its critical institutions kowtowing to a mystic logo traceable to an unnamed cult outside Ghana.
The EC under Charlotte witnessed the most tumultuous moments since it was established to manage elections in the country; her replacement of its logo being a sore decision.
The country woke up one day in those restive days of her tenure to the news that the coat of arms was going to be replaced with another logo of Charlotte’s choice. She was exercising her independence and so the opposition to her decision soon evaporated especially as she had the backing of the then ruling party.
Although by the nature of its assignment, it must remain independent of the central government so it can discharge its functions with integrity and to the satisfaction of parties in elections, this independence must not be misconstrued or even abused as Charlotte did.
When such independence is stretched to the extent of dropping the national identity, the coat of arms, then there is an abuse requiring immediate intervention.
Dropping the coat of arms as the principal impression of the logo of any state institution connotes an element of treason.
The EC is only independent of the state in matters bordering on the actual refereeing of elections vis a vis declaring results and such other issues related to this subject. Not so when we are dealing with issues of changing the identity of the institution and taking such decisions which have the tendency to bestow absolute authority, bereft of the principle of checks and balances on the EC Commissioner in flagrant violation of the limits as prescribed by the constitution.
Both Allotey Jacobs, former NDC Central Regional Chairman and the Deputy General Secretary of the NPP regard the now dropped Charlotte’s logo as cultic – a view shared by many others.
The ‘We saw it, we like it’ ‘it makes us happy’ show of hubris she put up when she unilaterally settled on the voodoo emblem could have impacted on her fate as it fast-tracked her early exit from an institution whose headship she was constitutionally assured of a long haul. Unfortunately she fell in love with a cultic emblem and plagiarized it, we understand.
We salute Jean for the bold decision to defend the flag and Coat of Arms of our dear country by repositioning it – in its rightly place at EC.
That some people seek to fault the decision and are pointing at the cost of the replacement as the basis of their argument is unsurprising. After all, there are persons who do not see anything with John Mahama’s tenure. The good thing, though, is that they are few.
Under the circumstances as in the restoration of a lost Coat Of Arms, cost is immaterial even as some seem to think. The power and authority evoked by the coat of arms of the Republic of Ghana overwhelms a voodoo emblem.
It is our guess that the Coat Of Arms bearing letterheads in the custody of the EC have not been destroyed yet and could easily be used in correspondences. Good move Jean.