John Mahama
Interesting times are ahead of the December 7 general election, with the balloting of positions for candidates conducted and the parties attributing religious connotations to their positions on the ballot paper.
While the NDC has always derided the position of the NPP in breaking the eight, John Mahama and his team are tickling themselves and claiming victory ahead of the December polls because the flagbearer picked No 8 on the ballot. The NDC membership, as it is with its leader, has very distinguishing characteristics of inconsistency and hypocrisy.
Lacking a very clear strategy to “reset” the country, the party has decided to focus on the unfulfilled promises of the ruling NPP, instead of telling the people how John Mahama intends to fix the “mess and sins” of the Akufo-Addo regime.
It is generally held that “if it is not broken, you don’t fix it” and, therefore, Ghanaians must be wary of the “sweet and lying tongues” of John Mahama and his apparatchiks. The alternative is still scary!
That explains the reason for John Mahama running like Usain Bolt away from the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) debate. Another fact is that John Mahama and his NDC have developed distaste for anything associated with Jean Mensa, the Electoral Commission (EC) Chairperson.
It is not for a joke that John Mahama would now attack the Jean Mensa-led EC, for actions he defended during Charlotte Osei’s tenure as Electoral Commissioner during the 2016 elections.
Be that as it may, we acknowledge that the NDC is good at propaganda and has managed to secure the support of some media people, academia, clergy, chiefs and civil society to support the party’s demand for an independent audit of the provisional voters’ register. These elements have forgotten that the EC, as a constitutional body, cannot be dictated to but has its internal mechanisms to resolve any issue.
We insist that the compilation of a credible and transparent electoral roll cannot be achieved through the whimsical demands of John Mahama and his NDC. Our elders say, there is no challenge that is resolved without dialogue.
We cannot use weapons or war to achieve consensus. Even at the end of a war, the protagonists go back to the negotiation table. The issues raised by the NDC about the voters’ register, can be resolved at the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC), if the NDC concerns are genuine but not meant for mischief.
And instead of our chiefs seeking consensus on the matter, the Paramount Chief of Goaso in the Ahafo Region backs the NDC’s call for a forensic audit. Nana Kwasi Bosomprah is reported to have challenged the Electoral Commissioner, Jean Mensa, to accept the calls for a forensic audit of the voters’ register.
Perhaps, this NDC chief was not in the country in 2016 when John Mahama asked Ghanaians to leave the Charlotte Osei-led EC alone to discharge its constitutional obligations.
The Goaso chief, for obvious reasons, will throw his weight behind the NDC as our elders say when the snail travels, it lodges with the tortoise, after all they are both shell animals.
Nonetheless, as the brouhaha about the December 7 polls unfolds, it is the responsibility of National Security to ensure that no individual or group of individuals are allowed to breach the peace and derail our democracy. Those who attempt to disturb the peace and thereby frighten voters on Election Day must be dealt with decisively.
The coercive power of the state must be deployed throughout the country. Peace-loving people have nothing to fear, except the NDC leaders who are stockpiling arms for their members to cause mayhem.
The EC has a critical task ahead. Jean Mensa and her team must remove all bad lots in its ranks who will be deployed as permanent and temporary staff on Election Day.
These men and women must be above reproach and put Ghana above any partisan considerations. EC will triumph on Election Day, the peace and security of Ghana will be sustained and democracy will endure.