Thursday 27 December 2012

NPP's COMEDY, JAKE PLEADS FOR MORE TIME AND...



By Roldolf Mensah-Akabah
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) appears to be pushing for the best comedy award following its gruesome defeat in the last general elections.
In spite of its cacophonous claims that the elections were rigged and its threat to go to court, it's National Chairman Jake Obetsetbi – Lamptey says that the party would not be stampeded into providing evidence to back its allegations.
“We will go to court when we want” he loudly proclaimed in an interview with Joy FM.
Jake sounds as if he and his party are under pressure to provide the concrete evidence and he is boldly resisting the pressure.
The truth however, is that it is the NPP which without any external prompting threatened to go to court perhaps to get a declaration that Nana Akufo- Addo, its presidential  candidate will be president indeed.
After 13 long days of waiting, the NPP has failed to provide a shred of evidence that the elections were rigged and its operatives and sympathizers are busily jumping from one street to the other in wild demonstrations.
The NPP now says that it is looking for the evidence.
The question which pops up is why did it claim that the elections were rigged when it had not found the evidence?
The comedy has not ended yet.  Act 1 scene 11 opens with the General Secretary of the NPP whose real name is Kwadwo Owusu Afriyei but likes to be called Sir John foaming at the mouth.
He is in a fit of anger and he declares that his party aims at making Ghana ungovernable.
The very first step he takes is to call for a demonstration and lo and behold only 500 people turned up.
What a way to make the country ungovernable!
The other day another joker in the NPP sent out a text message to all faithfuls. It simply read “Gbagbo  cancelled Ouatarra's figures, rushed to the Constitutional Council  to declare him president.  Ouatarra  collated his results, put the figures out and it was clear he had won massively. Why should we keep quite when I million votes have been stolen?. We should be careful about legitimizing illegalities in this country all in the name of peace.  We the NPP are insisting on the right thing. Nobody will fight. JDM hasn't been sworn in as president yet.”
Who will tell, these jokers that it is not possible to just copy everything which happened in La Cote d'Ivoire?
In any case where is the evidence that I million votes have been stolen?
Isn't it just amazing that the NPP is still insisting on taking power when it won in only two of the ten regions of Ghana?
Is the party not ashamed of the fact that it doesn't have a national character?
Serious people in the NPP must be deeply worried about the reputation the party is building for itself.
Fact is since 1951; the Danquah Busia tradition has disputed every election it did not win.
The only elections it has accepted as free and fair have been the 1969, 2000 and 2004 elections.
 Strangely, it even considers the 1966 elections in which the Convention Peoples Party (CPP) and its leading activists were banned as free and fair.
The NPP comedy is not about to end any time soon.
There are credible reports that a small band of adventurists are planning to swear-in Nana Akufo- Addo in Kumasi on January 7, 2013 as the President of Ghana.
How reckless can anybody be?
We may all choose to laugh at the infantile antics coming from the NPP but need to take it that it may also be very destabilizing.
The red lines must not be crossed!. No!!

Mahama Roots for Alan
The former Minister of Trade of Ghana, Alan John Kwadwo Kyerematen, has become the first official candidate for the post of Director General of the World Trade Organization.
Alan John Kwadwo Kyerematen

The 57-year-old economist and former Ambassador of Ghana to the United States has expressed a desire to change the WTO if he is to take over after Pascal Lamy, whose mandate expires on September 1st of next year, leaves his post.

Previously, a number of countries announced their intention to nominate candidates, including Brazil, New Zealand, Jordan and Mauritius.

The process for making nominations began on December 1 and will end at the end of the month.

After all nominations are received consultation will begin among the 157 member countries of the WTO with the name of the new head to be announced by May.
President John Dramani Mahama has already fully endorsed his candidature.


Editorial
GREAT GESTURE BUT……
President John Dramani Mahama is increasingly demonstrating his maturity as a leader.
It is clear that he is not weighed down by partisan political considerations and is ready to go the extra mile if it is in Ghana's interest so to do.
 The decision of President Mahama to back the candidature of Mr. Alan Kyeremateng for the post of Director –General of the World Trade Organisation fits perfectly into this mould.
 It is apparent that Kyeremateng's political colours do not matter and that what is important is that a qualified Ghanaian needs the support of his country to excel on the world stage.
While commending the president for his general attitude, we wish to stress the point that the allocation of big posts on the international stage to Ghanaians can only be useful if the beneficiaries work to change the world economic and information order.
This order which has been designed to keep the “developing world” in a perpetual state of slavery needs to be uprooted and replaced by one which promotes the interests of all people.
The World Trade Organisation as it currently operates serves more the interest of imperialist and neo-colonial masters.
Our question is will Mr. Alan Kyeremateng be a true representative of the exploited and oppressed peoples of the world?
For us, it is more important to have a fighter for justice and equality on the World Trade Organisation than just another Ghanaian big man.
We wish Mr. Alan Kyeremateng well. 
 



The necessity of acting fast in Mali
By Fabian Scherer
President of Niger, Mahamadou Issoufou, urged the international community to act quickly, fearing that the Islamist movements might otherwise spread to Mali’s neighbouring countries.
On 17 December 2012, African leaders renewed their call for an urgent military intervention in northern Mali to drive away Al-Qaeda linked groups, which have been controlling the region for more than half a year now.
Niger President Mahamadou Issoufou
The United Nations, however, have expressed concerns about the planned deployment of 3 300 ECOWAS troops, and warned that a final intervention might take another year.

Apparently, the African neighbours of Mali do not want to wait so long to support the West African country, which has undergone political chaos since the Touareg rebellion, and has renewed its call for independence from the deserted north of Mali more than half a year ago. Islamic extremist groups had first backed the claims of the Touaregs, but later replaced their separatist efforts with severe Islamist ideology. Since then, the north of the country has fallen under the control of those Islamic groups, which have implemented a cruel version of Shariah law, oppressing the Malian population.
Nevertheless, the United Nations Security Council has expressed concerns that a rushed military intervention might prevent a peaceful solution to the conflict. When it approved the ECOWAS plans in October, it also urged Mali to initiate negotiations with the different conflicting parties. Ansar Dine, one of the three Islamic groups holding the country’s north, and which is regarded as rather moderate Islamist, has declared earlier this month that it would support the requests of the central government in Bamako. The two other groups, which are deeply connected to Al-Qaeda, have not yet buckled under the threat of a military intervention. Instead, it was reported that Algerian fighters were crossing the border to support Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.
Justifiably, the President of Niger, Mahamadou Issoufou, urged the international community to act quickly, fearing that the Islamist movements might otherwise spread to Mali’s neighbouring countries. Regarding Niger, he said “Our sub-region faces unprecedented threats, including terrorism and organized crime, which together make for an explosive situation. They will not spare any of our countries.” Indeed, the UN’s announcement that military interventions would be possible in late 2013 at earliest give the radical groups in Mali enough time to take counter-measures.

While the ECOWAS troops will be restricted by a tight regional mandate, the rebel fighters’ hands are not similarly tied. Borders within the area are long and almost impossible to control. It would therefore be easier for them to shift their activities to other neighbouring countries.
In the end, the planned military intervention is not so much about liberating the north of Mali, but more about pushing back the influence of radical Islamists within the whole region. Neighbouring countries fear that Islamist movements could extend to their territories, and the hesitant attitude of the United Nations might underline those concerns.

Giving the rebel groups enough time to develop strategies to avoid military confrontation will not help to promote potential peace talks, it will instead lead to a reallocation of Islamic extremists within West African countries. The United Nations would be well advised to acknowledge that and to enable a fast military intervention, if they do not want to deploy another peacekeeping mission in Africa in the future.


Pentagon prepares military operation in Mali
It’s only December, but it looks like the Pentagon has all planned out how they’ll spend a good part of 2013. US officials now claim that the Defense Department is busy preparing a military operation in the nation of Mali.
An American Drone
United States officials with knowledge of the matter tell the Washington Post that the Department of Defense and the US State Department will assist next year in a mission to overthrow Islamic extremists with ties to al-Qaeda who took under control a significant part of Mali, a small West African country that is still picking itself up after a coup this past March.
Earlier this year, military officers displaced the administration of then-President Amandou Toumani Toure, claiming that he was reluctant in addressing the extremist issue himself. However since then the military junta failed to improve security in the country and retake control of the northern part of Mali captured by the Islamists.Now the US is claiming that it’s ready to help the military rulers, even though it may be a clear violation of American laws: the Pentagon cannot assist first-hand with people responsible for ousting a democratically elected leader. That doesn’t mean, however, that Washington won’t find a way to send support overseas.
According to testimonies from officials speaking to the Post, both the Pentagon and State Department will assist opposition to the terrorists by training, equipping and transporting troops to tackle what Sen. Christopher A. Coons (D-Delaware) has called “the largest territory controlled by Islamic extremists in the world.”

Speaking on the record, though, the Pentagon’s deputy assistant secretary for Africa tells the paper that US influence might not end there.
“There’s plenty of other forms of information and intelligence that are circulating that give us enough insight for planning purposes,” the Defense Department’s Amanda J. Dory tells the Post this week. According to the paper, Dory also floated the possibility of US warplanes being deployed to North Arica to provide troops there with aerial protection.

“We definitely don’t know how that would work out,” Dory says.
In advance of next year’s expected war, the State Department and the Treasury announced this week that they have blacklisted two Mali extremist groups, the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa, as terrorists officially in the eyes of Uncle Sam. The Associated Press reports that doing such will make any of those groups’ members ineligible to receive assistance from the US or conduct business, the start of crippling sanctions expected to continue until eventual military intervention.

Meanwhile, though, the wheels are indeed in motion in terms of starting to send US support towards Mali. On Wednesday, Johnnie Carson, assistant secretary for African Affairs under US President Barack Obama, said "We have sent military planners to [the Economic Community of West African States] to assist with the continued development and refinement of the plans for international intervention.”
Carson acknowledged that US assistance will be needed in order to overthrow al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb, or AQIM, but added, “it must be African-led; it must be Malian-led.”

It is sanction time for Israel
 By Jim W. Dean
Israel fell into a carefully laid trap on Thursday December 10, 2012 by refusing to allow inspections of its weapons of mass destruction facilities. This has opened the door for the only possible response. It is sanction time for the Israelis. Let them reap what they have sown. And let us do what we must do.
Isareli Nuke Sites
If the shoe were on the other foot, the Zios would be screaming to have the facilities bombed, but we won’t do that. The WMD contamination would be a disaster. Even conventional weapons landing just on their nuclear waste sites would create a catastrophe for anyone down wind. It’s the cheap way of making a conventional warhead go nuclear, using the target’s own waste material.

Netanyahu played his role as expected. Straight out of the Talmud, his coalition does not accept demands from the non-Jewish sub-humans. He will bet the farm on the Jewish Lobbies in the main Western countries, that they can bully their host country legislatures to do their bidding. They have a long track record.

In America this is a bipartisan campaign. The Senate Democrats and Republicans passed the new Iran sanctions bill, drafted by Israeli intelligence operatives as usual.

Canada, which is the Mossad’s western hemisphere base, will rubber stamp anything coming out of Tel Aviv. She has slid a long way down the humanity scale since WWII, when their great PM Mackenzie King refused to sign onto a post war plan to ‘depopulate Germany.’

The other Allied leaders wanted to kill off 20 million men, women and children through starvation. Their goal was removing Germany’s need to be an export competitor to earn the needed foreign exchange to buy the food for its population.

When the plan was leaked to a shocked world, the villains pretended it had only been a working paper, when it had actually been a signed mass murder document. Where are the Mackenzie Kings of our day when we need them? Was the Palestinian UN vote a hint that some are coming out of incubation?

This post-war planned crime against humanity, against a defenseless people, was of course never prosecuted. To add to this shame the victor’s court historians have ignored it all these years. Real historians like David Irving were attacked for printing the forbidden truth and made examples of to cower the rest of the sheep. And yes, Jewish lobbies had their fingerprints all over the dirty deed.

But the Israelis have huge amounts of blackmail material collected over decades on most Western leaders and legislators. They certainly will not hesitate to use this to stop any sanctions effort. There will have to be a grass roots effort to clean house. All those who have aided and abetted in Israel’s crimes will need to be sanctioned, also.

There is no point to taking out a repressive leader and leaving the repressive infrastructure in place.

A new leader will be found in a day to carry on the former work. But we do have a template to use on Israel from WWII, the Japanese one.

Israel must not only be de-nuclearized but de-militarized just like Japan was, and for similar reasons. Both wanted growing space, and used their military power to get it. Japan’s target was Asia. For Israel it is every country on the planet.

To militant Israelis we non-Jews are just two-legged farm animals. As their chief rabbi publicly declared, the rest of us are here to serve Jews. The Likud party people really like that part and they are big fans of the rabbi.

Israel has mounted offensive espionage operations across the entire world. The Palestinian UN vote showed that not even the tiny Micronesia countries, including the make-believe ones under water, escaped their targeting for control and dependable UN voting.

Can Israelis actually do this with just their resources in Israel? Of course not. Israeli 5th columns operate everywhere. They are used as a human shield of sorts to deflect any mention of disloyalty as based on anti-Semitism only.

It is an open secret in the Intel community that no Western country will prosecute any Israeli espionage. This is a breach of all of their leadership oaths to defend their country. Of course those countries that reject domination, and do defend their people from the Zios, are considered threats.

So we have the incredible irony of those who sat in judgment at Nuremberg, and hanged people for ‘waging an aggressive war,’ are now breaching their own precedent and demanding immunity out of the barrel of a gun. They dishonor the deaths of all those who lost their live in that conflict. They stain Western civilization and jurisprudence by betraying it.

The Israeli regime also provides us a tried and true sanctions template. Once Israel is ‘officially’ deemed a security threat to all the rest of us… we just build a wall… around the entire country. The difference this time the Army Corp of Engineers will not build it like they did around Gaza, and the American taxpayers pay for it. We will give that honor to Israel’s victims.

The pro-Israeli Diaspora and their friends like the Christian Zionists can pay for it. The latter can use the money they have donated to the WMD Regime to clean it up like a nuclear waste site, which in many respects I believe we will find when the inspectors get in there.

David Ben Gurion Airport will get to see what it is like with no planes coming in or leaving. Yes people, I mean that kind of wall, just like Gaza. If they protest just tell them that Jim Dean said if it was good enough to dish out to the Gazans deemed a threat with no WMD, then it is certainly fair for one Israel that has.

The US will have multiple exposures here, not only for the black projects and billons pumped into Israel while Americans are being third-worlded to pay for it all back at home. We also waved India past the IAEA inspection process, which assured that Pakistan would keep investing in its own nuclear deterrent, which it can ill afford.

Why has America done this? The only feasible reason I can see is a desperate attempt by those behind the military industrial complex to replace the Soviet Cold War with the Neo-China one. The bogeyman drum was being beaten for China, another country endeavoring to build up its defensive capabilities.

Why do more Americans not connect the two dots that making an enemy threat out of anyone wanting to defend themselves is very undemocratic? It is not a difficult hoax to see through.

How many military bases does China have in Canada and Mexico? And how about those Chinese S400 type ground-to-air missiles lining up on our southern border and the ten warhead medium-range missiles being installed ‘to protect Chinese and Mexican interests?

How would Americans react to this? But here is the big question. Why would they act the same way… when it is not happening? Who really is our enemy in such a twisted scenario?

The rank and file Americans are victims in all this. The war costs have been just a tool to transfer wealth to the super rich, and I mean the cash. The troops and factory workers get IOU’s and paper stock certificates. The average Israelis are getting robbed themselves. Even their ‘Holocaust’ funds get looted. At last count a third of Israel’s ‘survivors’ were eating in soup kitchens.

The American version of this looting hustle was taking place on Capitol Hill today with an expert testifying on Iran as a threat to the Caucus region. He was of course surprise - surprise - an Israeli expert, Ariel Cohen.

I took a look at Cohen’s bio at the Heritage Foundation and he has the grooming profile of the classic Israeli asset. Israel has tons of them working out of numerous think tanks here and in Canada. Many have become Mossad hostels of a sort.

His expert testimony was shocking to say the least. I will try not to make you sick by just showing a few points from his conclusions.
“Expand anti-terrorism and drug trafficking cooperation between the US and the three South Caucus states, neutralizing Iranian subversion activities in the region.”
Israeli Premiere Benjamin Nyetanahu

My response: Mr. Cohen, how can you not know that all the drugs coming out of Afghanistan are being shipped out by American and Israeli ‘contractors’ with the three countries you mention getting their cut of the pie? And why did you not address this subversive activity as threat to the region when everyone in the military and intelligence business knows that it is true, including you?

“Uphold the interests of the small Southern Caucasian countries when attempting to construct an effective Iran policy which leads to the elimination of Tehran’s nuclear weapons program.”

Mr. Cohen, you must know the IAEA, Israeli and American Intel have all stated that the Iranians do not have a nuclear weapons program. Why would Iran want to prelude having a nuclear deterrent at some point in the future when they are in range of Israeli nuclear missiles with constant threats of launching a preemptive strike?

Your testimony Mr. Cohen is exactly what I would expect an Israeli agent to deliver at exactly this point in time to justify the Senate sanction vote as addressing a threat, when you are just doing some ‘pre-staging’ work for Israel. It’s an old game what you did today.

But thank you just the same. You have validated all the reasons why Israel also deserves to be sanctioned as a rogue state. You were doing double duty today just like Netanyahu was with his ‘bugger off’ on the WMD inspections.

We now have a long Israeli list to work with, multi-decades of extensive WMD programs, drug trafficking, terrorist operations, destabilizing countries, money laundering, blood diamonds, human trafficking, waging offensive wars, and crimes against humanity. And yes, we know Israeli special operations people were killing US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. It’s in the classified reports.

What would you say sir about you and I working together to write up a joint statement to deliver to the Congressional committee on this threat? I would even be willing to do most of the work. It would be a good change of pace for you.

EISA ELECTION OBSERVER MISSION TO THE 7TH DECEMBER 2012 PRESIDENTIAL AND PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS IN GHANA 

INTERIM STATEMENT 

1. Introduction 


Following an invitation by the Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana, the Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa (EISA) deployed a twenty five member Election Observer Mission to the 2012 Ghana Presidential and Parliamentary Elections. 
The EISA Election Observer Mission was led by Mr. Ahmed Issack Hassan, the Chairperson of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, Kenya, assisted by the Deputy Mission Leader, Mr. Vincent Tohbi, Director of Programmes at EISA.

The members of the Mission were drawn from Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and Electoral Management Bodies (EMBs) from thirteen countries namely Burundi, Canada, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Nigeria, Sweden, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe.

Mr Ahmed Issack Hassan
The deployment of the mission was consistent with EISA’s mission of “the promotion of credible elections, citizen participation and the strengthening of political institutions for sustainable democracy in Africa”. The EISA mission was equipped with high tech computer tablets which it used to transmit information regarding the pre-voting, voting and post-voting processes from its various teams across the country to the Mission Command Centre located at the MÓ§venpick Hotel in Accra in real time. 

The Mission noted significant efforts made by the Ghanaian electoral stakeholders to improve the voter registration through adopting biometric technology in a bid to enhance the credibility and integrity of the voters register. The 2012 elections were therefore a litmus test on the newly adopted biometric voter registration which produced new voter ID cards. 

The EISA Mission commends the enthusiastic and generally peaceful participation of the Ghanaian citizens in the elections. The Mission further extends its gratitude to the electoral stakeholders and the people of Ghanafor their hospitality and for having availed themselves to meet and share their perspectives on the electoral process with the Mission. 

The EISA Mission has made its preliminary observations, findings and recommendations that are being presented in this Interim Statement. Our observations are based on the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance, the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation, and the Principles for Election Management, Monitoring and Observation (PEMMO) in the SADC Region.

EISA will continue to follow the electoral process and will produce a comprehensive final report upon the conclusion of the process. The report will provide an in-depth analysis of the Mission’s observations, findings and recommendations. 
 
2. Mission Methodology 
The EISA Election Observer Mission adopted a short-term observation methodology. The Mission deployed 9 teams on 4 December 2012 to nine out of the ten Regions of Ghana namely, Ashanti, Brong-Ahafo, Central, Greater Accra, Eastern, Northern, Upper East, Western and Volta.

Prior to deployment, the Mission conducted stakeholders briefings from 2nd December to 3rd December 2012. A number of stakeholders in the electoral process made presentations on the Ghana electoral and political history, the current electoral process and the preparedness of the various institutions. The stakeholders included civil society organisations, the Electoral Commission (EC), political parties, the police and the media. Besides the stakeholder briefings, the Mission Leader, also met with the following dignitaries with whom salient issues were discussed regarding the electoral process: 
· Mr. John Kufuor, former Presidents of Ghana 
· Mr. Jerry Rawlings, former President of Ghana 
· Mr. Olusegun Obasanjo, former President of Nigeria 

On Election Day, the EISA teams visited polling stations and observed the opening of the poll, the voting and counting processes at the polling stations, followed by the beginning of the tallying process in selected constituencies. To ensure real time transmission of data collected in the field on Election Day, all the 9 teams were equipped with innovative handheld android-based tablets. These devices use the 3G mobile network to transmit the encrypted data to an aggregation server. This server then streams the data to EISA intranet where graphical data is generated.

This enables a quicker analysis and mapping of the election observation information. The EISA teams returned to Accra for a debriefing session today 8th December 2012. The EISA Observer Mission’s conclusion on the general elections in Ghana is restricted to the period up to 8th December 2012. 

4. Preliminary Findings 
After considering relevant legislation and documentation, briefings by electoral stakeholders, media reports, direct observations made by its different teams deployed on the ground, and basing its findings and recommendations on guidelines contained in the aforementioned instruments, the EISA Mission has made the following preliminary findings: 
 
4.1 Political Context of the 2012 General Elections 
The Mission notes Ghana’s democratic gains that have been made since 1992 and congratulates the country’s leadership and the citizenry as a whole for demonstrating political maturity over the decades. This was further made evident during the transition following the untimely passing away of H.E. President John Atta-Mills. The Mission further notes that the 2012 Presidential and Parliamentary elections took place barely 4 months after the demise of the President-a matter which could have easily triggered political instability had it not been handled with care. The peaceful political transition during the difficult moment in the country’s history contributed to a conducive environment which was crucial for the conduct of the 7th December 2012 elections. 4 

4.2 Legal Framework of the 2012 General Elections 
The Mission has noted that the presidential and parliamentary elections are governed by a set of laws and regulations, the most significant being: the Constitution of Ghana (1992) and relevant statutory frameworks. As the basis for citizen participation in the political and electoral process, the Constitution makes detailed provision and safeguards for fundamental human rights and freedoms and the protection of such rights by the courts. The Constitution encapsulates representation of the people and affirms the right to vote as a fundamental right. 

The Constitution also grants the Electoral Commission, a key institution in the electoral process, roles, powers and functions to enable it to effectively manage elections. 

4.3 The Electoral System 
Ghana uses a Two-Round system for the presidential election and the First-Past-The-Post system for parliamentary election. Particularly for the parliamentary election, the Mission noted that the electoral system does not give specific considerations to promote the participation of women and youth in public leadership. This system was criticised by stakeholders during their briefing to the Mission as it is viewed not favour the representation of smaller parties in parliament. 

4.4 Voter Registration and Voters’ Register 
The Mission has noted that for the first time in the history of multi-party elections in Ghana, biometric voter registration was used to produce a new voter register and voter IDs. Whilst the EISA Mission noted this effort as progressive towards the enhancement of the integrity of the voter register, it is not necessarily without flaws. In addition to the biometric voter register, the law provides for the use of the biometric verification of voters as a pre-requisite to voting. The Mission noted that this provision gives a possibility of disenfranchising the already registered voters as a result of this provision. 

The Mission noted that voter registration under the new dispensation went well aside from instances where voters in some areas were not registered leading to a court order instructing the EC to register them days before the election. 
 
Another issue brought to the attention of the Mission was the registration of minors. Different stakeholders raised concerns regarding the credibility of the voters register. This notwithstanding, the Mission noted that the presence of minors in the voters register was detected by the EC itself and efforts were jointly made with stakeholders to discourage the minors to register and vote. However, the Mission has not at this point assessed the impact of the registration of minors on the electoral process. 

4.5 The Electoral Campaign 
The Mission observed that the election campaigns were generally peaceful. Despite mounting tensions closer to the polling day, the Mission noted with satisfaction the high level of tolerance between the various political parties and candidates. This owes partly to the inter-party conflict mechanism in the form of the Inter Parties Advisory Committee (IPAC) under which political parties in Ghana developed a Code of Conduct. 

The Mission noted that most political parties mounted formidable campaign drives in spite of not receiving state funding for their campaign. Parties in Ghana are however not prohibited to raise funds from private sources of funding. Even so, the Mission noted that there is no regulatory mechanism for campaign expenditure in Ghana. 

4.6 Role of the media 
The Mission notes with satisfaction the constructive role played by the media by educating the citizens about the electoral process. Live debates among parties and candidates on various policy issues were hosted by the various media outlets. The Mission has noted with satisfaction that the media continues to carry out its duty to inform the electorate on the election results as they are made public by the EC. 

4.7 The Role of Security Forces 
The Mission noted that the security agencies worked closely with the EC to ensure maintenance of law and order throughout the electoral process. The security agencies established a joint operations committee which mapped out potential hotspots and devised mitigation strategies. During the polling and counting processes, the EISA teams around the country observed high presence of the security agents in a majority of the visited polling stations. 6 
 
4.5 Civic and Voter Education 
The Mission has noted the continuous efforts made by the EC, CSOs, political parties and other stakeholders to educate citizens on the electoral process since the dawn of multi-partism in 1992. This initiative was more evident ahead of the 2012 elections particularly given the introduction of the new biometric registration. 

4.6 The Polling Process 
The Mission noted that there were a number of factors which led to the delays in opening of some polling stations visited by the EISA teams. The main reason in most cases was the late delivery of materials at the polling stations. 

Although the polling process proceeded smoothly in most polling stations visited, the problem of verification of voters using the biometric voter machines was observed in a number of stations. This led to a number of voters being disqualified to vote despite their names being in the voters’ register. 

4.7 Voter turnout 
The mission observed a high voter turnout in all the visited polling stations. There was a noticeable high turnout of women and youth in most visited polling stations who were enthusiastic to vote. 

4.8 Party agents 
The Mission has noted with satisfaction that there was a strong presence of party agents in all polling stations visited which ensured the transparency of the polling process. Notably party agents were young people and this is a positive step in that their involvement in the electoral process. 

4.10 Gender Representation 
The Mission notes with concern that despite democratic gains made in Ghana, the country still lags behind in ensuring gender balance in political representation. There were no female candidates for the 2012 presidential elections and very low percentage of female parliamentary candidates across all parties. 7 

Similar gender imbalance was glaring at the polling stations where few women were represented amongst the EC polling officials as observed by EISA teams. The majority of party agents (polling agents) were also male. 

4.11 Election Materials 
Despite the particular concern on defective biometric verification machines and the late delivery of materials in some polling stations, the Mission noted with satisfaction that electoral materials were in sufficient quantities throughout the polling process where they arrived. 

4.12 Secrecy of the Ballot 
Whilst the Mission noted that the polling booths were placed in a position that enabled secrecy of voting, there were few observed incidences where the booths were placed in a position which comprised the secrecy of the ballot particularly in densely populated areas. 

4.13 Polling officials 
The polling officials showed proper knowledge of the polling procedures manifesting that training was well conducted. They were also clearly identifiable, easily accessible and conducted voting operations with high level of transparency. 
 
4.14 Closing and Counting Process 
All polling stations were closed according to the election procedures. Voters on the queue were allowed to vote at the of closing of polls. However, due to technical failures of the biometric verification machines in certain polling stations, the EC took a decision to continue with polling on Saturday the 8th December 2012 in the affected polling stations. 
In all polling stations observed, the counting process was conducted in accordance with the election procedures. The process took place in the presence of party agents and observers hence ensuring transparency. 8 

5. Preliminary Recommendations 
Based on the foregoing observations, the EISA Observer Mission makes the following preliminary recommendations: 
a) Measures be taken to ensure greater opportunities for representation of women and youth in political positions, Such measures may involve reforms on the electoral system; 
b) Considerations be made to ensure provision of state funding for political parties and regulation of campaign finance from private sources; 
c) Measures be taken to ensure that registered voters are not disenfranchised on the basis of their rejection by the biometric voter registration machine; 
d) The EC should consider delivery of election materials at polling stations on the eve of the elections rather than on morning of the polling day to avoid a repeat of instances that led to delayed opening of polling in some polling stations; and 
e) The EC should increase its capacity to mount its own logistics in the electoral process 

6. Conclusion 
The Mission would like to congratulate the people of Ghana for their overall peaceful conduct during the electoral process thus far. Though there have been challenges relating to the verification of voters before voting and late delivery of materials in some areas, the Mission concludes that the 2012 Ghana elections met regional, continental and international standards for credible and transparent elections. 

As we are releasing this statement, voting is still underway in some polling stations in the country. The Mission hopes that the same atmosphere will prevail during the remaining stages of the electoral process. 

The Mission appeals to political parties and independent candidates to accept the outcome of the elections and to resort to the legally provided channels in the event that they want to want to challenge this outcome. 
Signed on 8th December 2012 
Mr. Ahmed Issack Hassan, 
Mission Leader 
MÓ§venpick Hotel 
Accra, Ghana


Christmas of murder
By Gordon Duff
During the past few weeks, America has shocked me. The vote to maintain the suffering and degradation of the Palestinian people was expected.

I cannot really claim that the bizarre and wildly conspiratorial lies about Syria and nuclear weapons, a news report I just viewed minutes ago, or the threat of chemical and biological weapon use, surprised me.

Then it hit me as though I had run into a wall at one hundred miles per hour.

America is voting to restrict visits by Russian nationals based on possible “war crimes” and is supporting similar attacks on Iran for their failure to adhere to America’s standards for human rights.

I keep saying it, as if it is a dream, “America’s standards for human rights…”
Without belaboring the point, I have watched my country murder two million people during the last 11 years. During my lifetime, I have watched America support death squads in three dozen nations, arm maniacal regimes with weapons of mass destruction and, quite openly, flood the world with narcotics while turning away from issues of mass murder and human trafficking on every continent but Antarctica.

I see this and realize I live in a nation obsessed with religion, obsessed with “judgment” and utterly blind to what is inexorably an evil that has seeped into the very recesses of every aspect of American society.

Today, in Russia, millions are preparing for the “end of the world,” based on interpretations of the Mayan calendar.

When I look around, the indifference to justice, to humanity, to honor and decency, the willingness to engage in wholesale evil on a massive scale, and no rational person can assert that the American psyche is one iota other than described, the idea of the “end times” begins to make sense.

Are so many utterly blind that they can’t see how a divine hand would demand retribution against societies that are so inherently infested with what could only be described as a demonic presence?

Indifference transcends all today, torture, murder, starvation, cruelty, no matter the color, the race, the religion, it means nothing.

If you think I am kidding, if you feel I exaggerate, please read any American newspaper, watch any report, listen to our government, see what we do, for every voice of decency, the soulless silence of millions rings with a deafening crescendo.

America is a nation of churches. They dot our cities, our countryside, new ones every day. The days of the small church, the rural congregations are quickly giving way to “mega-churches.” Such things exist no place other than America, often prefabricated, tens of thousands of square feet, industrial buildings altered to take on the appearance of places of solemnity and worship.

We are told America is a Christian nation with up to 44% of Americans regularly attending religious services.

This is a critical time. Christians around the world look to the period each year chosen to represent the birth of Christ. What had been intended to be a message of spiritual renewal, of universal love, of ultimate humanity and transcendent goodness, a time of hope and replenishment has, during my lifetime, a short few decades, lost its meaning.

It feels strange, talking about Christmas. My own household was never religious but Christmas was always a magical time, not just one of gifts, but a mystical period that touched all of us, believers and non-believers alike.

Let me be more than clear, there are endlessly more “non-believers” in America than “believers,” particularly among those who regularly attend religious services.

The twentieth century set the stage for what was to follow. What had been represented as the great clashes, between philosophies, clashes between political theories, clashes between nation states over the resources of the world are now laid bare, as the new century has brought new vision.
Capitalism, the financial religion of “the West,” was proven nothing but rehashed feudalism, with the barons and dukes replaced by petty dictators and the shadow world government of organized crime, described by many as “international finance.”

With few exceptions, every move toward human advancement and spiritual renewal was characterized as “radicalization.” A century of war builds a world of injustice, of filthy water, of poisoned food, of darkness and hopes for teeming billions dashed.

Whatever the people of the world accepted as their beliefs and hopes, nothing became so clear as the presence of an evil waiting to end a life, crush a dream, debase all innocence.

I can no longer watch the news; I can no longer listen to but a few world leaders.

Moreover, the real voices of reason are invariably those of the “terrorist.” Speak the truth and you are on a “watch list.” Demand justice and you become the fodder of a “drone attack.”

Thus, I look at America, judging the world; this leader is a “war criminal,” that one an “extremist,” and another, “sympathetic to ‘Al Qaeda.’”

Then I remember.

From the website HistoryCommons.org, the story of how and why the United States withdrew from participation in the International Criminal Court:

“May 6, 2002: US Withdraws from International Criminal Court Statute

In a letter to Secretary-General of the UN Kofi Annan, US Undersecretary of State for Arms Control John Bolton writes: “This is to inform you, in connection with the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court adopted on July 17, 1998, that the United States does not intend to become a party to the treaty. Accordingly, the United States has no legal obligations arising from its signature on December 31, 2000.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says, “The United States will regard as illegitimate any attempt by the court or state parties to the treaty to assert the ICC’s jurisdiction over American citizens.”

The ICC dates back to the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, and serves as the world’s first and most influential war crimes tribunal.

Bolton’s letter serves to both withdraw the US from the Rome Statute, which established the ICC, and relieves the US of its obligations under the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties.

US Will Not be ‘Second-Guessed’ - The Bush administration defends its action, contending that the treaty infringes on US sovereignty because, under its provisions, an international prosecutor answerable to no one could initiate politically motivated or frivolous suits against US troops, military officers or officials.

“We do not want anything to do with it,” an administration spokesman has said. The ICC is “unaccountable to the American people,” and “has no obligation to respect the constitutional rights of our citizens,” Rumsfeld says. Secretary of State Colin Powell says the ICC undermines US judicial sovereignty and the US could not be held accountable to a higher authority that might try “to second-guess the United States after we have tried somebody… We are the leader in the world with respect to bringing people to justice…
This is the official legal position of the nation that seeks sanctions against Iran, that wants to limit the travel of those of other nations that it believes may be subject to a system of justice that, if one were to carefully read the text above, the government of the United States officially repudiates.

America does not want to be “second guessed” as it believes its function is as “the leader in the world with respect to bringing people to justice…”

Does everyone see the insanity in this or is it just me?


Isaiah Abraham’s Murder: the wider implications to South Sudanese society
By Steve Paterno
The cold blooded murder of Isaiah Abraham is a shock, but it never came as a surprise to observers of South Sudan events, including this writer.

South Sudan, a newly independent country is experiencing a cruel evolution, characterized with weak institutions, lack of capacity, incompetence, and gross corruption. Isaiah Abraham, better known to his family as Ding, or in full name as Isaiah Ding Abraham Chan Awuol, was lured out of his house in Juba at early morning hours of December 5th, 2012, by unknown assailants and then shot to death.

South Sudan President Salva Kiir
Born in mid 1960s, to a politically active family, from Jonglei State of South Sudan, Isaiah Abraham grew up with a taste for knowledge and a sense for political activism. When he finished his high school, he immediately joined in the cause to liberate South Sudan—the SPLM/A. Isaiah Abraham fought the war of liberation courageously, even sustaining injuries, and having his biological brothers falling victims to the enemy. After the war end, Isaiah Abraham pursued education in the country of Kenya, and established himself as one of the most prominent South Sudanese writers, who comment on important issues affecting South Sudan.

Isaiah Abraham, who in his best conviction, expect the best for South Sudan was lucky to escape the enemies bullets, bombs, and land mines, but unfortunately, was gunned down, by his own in the comfort of his house. The murder of Isaiah Abraham, regardless of who murdered him and whatever the motives, presents the following against South Sudan as a country, the society and government:
First, there is no one in charge in South Sudan. Anyone can order a hit against some one or anyone, without being held accountable. Perhaps, some one already have a head of the president for certain amount, while the president is event oblivious about his own role of being in charge.
Second, South Sudan government is killing its own citizens, just like the Old Sudan, which managed to kill millions of South Sudanese citizens, until South Sudan separated. People are asking for how long will the killing continue in South Sudan, while the killing is going on....
Third, South Sudanese can never govern themselves. The government of South Sudan is proving to be the most chaotic government in the world, which is turning against its own citizens, and is killing them in great numbers...
Fourth, tribalism, took over as oppose to nationalism. Different tribes of South Sudan are fighting each other, forgetting about the nation—South Sudan...
Fifth, South Sudan fell into the same Old Sudan system of employing loyalists into the security services. The security personnel ended up serving the interest of certain individuals as oppose to the national interest, which is supposedly their mandate.
Sixth, the people of South Sudan are becoming more fearful of their government, while the government is turning the people to be the enemy.
Seventh, South Sudanese security agents, turns out to be the killers of South Sudanese. This is contrary to the other system in advance world, where security means protecting the citizens, not killing them.
Eighth, freedom of press is being suppressed in South Sudan. The new country is becoming a fertile ground of silencing voices of freedom, democracy and freedom of expression. Journalists are harassed, intimidated and even killed.

Ninth, people of South Sudan are yarning for change—a change for better.
Tenth, it is now up to the government to prove otherwise, by bringing into justice the killers of Isaiah Abraham and take back the charge of the country. The sentiment of South Sudanese is the very sentiment Isaiah Abraham is able to express in writing, for the late is the spokesperson for many silent voices.

Silencing Isaiah Abraham through a cruel means is a wrong attempt in trying to silence the South Sudanese people. Killing Isaiah Abraham actually multiply the voices for freedom as Isaiah Abraham embodied South Sudanism. And freedom will prevail over the cruel hands that murder Isaiah Abraham. The long arm of justice will eventually reach to snatch the killers of Isaiah Abraham.

China congratulate President Mahama

Hu Jintao, President of the People’s Republic of China has congratulated President John Dramani Mahama on his electoral victory on December 7.
    
In a statement issued by the Chinese President on Tuesday expressed the hope that under the leadership of President Mahama, Ghana would continuously make greater progress in development.
    
President Hu said China cherished the traditional friendship between the two countries and is willing to make joint efforts with Ghana to expand exchanges at various levels and deepen mutual beneficial cooperation in all fields.
   
“We will unceasingly promote China-Ghana friendly and cooperative relations to a new stage and bring more tangible benefits to our two countries and peoples,” he added.