Dums? Election

MY BEEF

By various permutations, there is a very high probability of a dums? election. The calculations are based on experiences of residents in my neighbourhood and my chiefdom, some 280 kilometres apart. The lights go out for part of everyday. Peace mongers must appreciate that a ‘dums?less’ good lighting today and throughout the elections is a sine qua non for guaranteeing tomorrow’s peace. It should not just be a matter of talking peace.

For example, the election madam and her colleague mesdames and messrs should, without delay, show us implementable plans and activities undertaken and to be undertaken with surety, that guarantee a dums?–free election. Supreme Court election petitioning on various occasions has exposed the incompetence of election organisers that enables some to take advantage of stealing in order to deny others legitimate victory.

To be free of dums? is critical because many election malpractices are committed under the cover of darkness. Unavailability of electricity which powers the charging of verification machine batteries and other election devices can be dangerous. It is recipe for chaos over other means of verification that would delay and waste people’s time.

This column has relentlessly raised issues that are at the basis of achieving free and FAIR election. And this one is another addition. Everyone in this motherland knows very well that dums? is alive and kicking. Yet, no one seems to complain about political election commercials that say dums? is dead when dums? is not over.

So I am saying it; that dums? is not asleep. It is unlikely to be over by the December 7 election day. Therefore, all who care need to be drawing attention to it so that effective plans can be developed; the needed logistics are procured and distributed to avoid a dums? election disruption. That would be too costly.

Sabotage or accidental, I can see lights going out, perhaps strategically, in many or certain places or even a certain place for long or short periods of time. Already, porous procedures undertaken in darkness are maintaining a register ruled unreasonably accurate and credible. Physical darkness at even one polling station or collation centre would risk fairness and throw whatever declared results into dispute.

We should cease deceiving ourselves that dums? is over. It did not go anywhere. Propaganda might have wished it away. Unfortunately, it is that which is easy to verify because the current will not be there to run anything.

It is assumed there would be sufficient daylight for all activities. However, we have also seen in the past, instances of delays that have pushed what should be in daylight to little, faint or no light at all. Sometimes, the entire voting exercise has been pushed to the next day with ballot boxes requiring overnight around the clock watch.

Light is needed to verify and quantify who votes and would have voted. There is no way to identify in darkness. Applied indelible ink cannot easily be ascertained in darkness. There must be light to ensure a name is on the register and that it has been appropriately ticked as having collected ballot papers. A ballot paper can only be seen to have been stamped and without any disqualifying mark when there is light.

Once handed the ballot paper, the prospective voter must be able to see it as unmarked and with all the information of candidate and symbols to rightly thumb-print a choice, fold it properly and push into the ballot box. [Casting the ballot (including securing ballot boxes overnight) need light.]  Light is essential in establishing ballot boxes are empty at the beginning and properly seal-fastened at the close of voting.

We require enough light to count accurately. With my ocular eyes, I have seen election officials borrow articulator truck lights to replace malfunctioning EC lanterns at the Meteorological Services polling station. I shudder to think an unwelcome repeat. Articulator lighting system can fail or be unavailable. Transparent counting and collation of the counted are mandatory for election fairness. Full glare counting and collation are enabled by sufficient lighting. Dums? would seriously undermine either.

Recorded polling station results (the recording itself is subject in its accuracy to good lighting) on pink sheets get manually carried from polling station to the constituency collation centre. Other counting forms and stages (constituency to district to region to national) in the transmission process depend on good lighting.

And so on the checklist of the EC and all who are tracking by observation for transparency, accuracy and credibility, none can be achieved without vital proper lighting and NO dums? at any point or stage in the conduct of the elections. An election under darkness is primed for stealing.  Dums? shouldn’t doom the motherland through elections.

By Kwasi Ansu-Kyeremeh