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| Charlotte Osei Ghana's astute Electoral Commissioner |
By Dora Addy
It is a not a grave error, but
rather an interplay of boldness and a daring spirit seldom unfounded among
public officials. It’s a pure patriotic act.
The disqualification of
fourteen presidential aspirants in this year’s general elections was widely
received with surprise from all spectrums. The debate is still on course, as to
whether the presidential aspirants were aware of the conditions surrounding
their disqualification from the race to the Jubilee House.
The general atmosphere
surrounding this news has nonetheless created a lot of respect for the
Electoral Commission; creating for it a new level of soundness and somewhat
helped to remove the … that has beset it.
The EC has been vilified on
many levels; the change of its logo to a more complex symbol, its stubborn
choice to admit NHIS card holders into the EC register, among other
things, and is under the constant gaze
of society, especially at the coming of this year’s general elections.
Although not spared from constant
public lashing and checks, the EC has always come out with bold answers to some
of its decisions, and assured Ghanaians to continue to uphold the trust placed
upon it.
Now, considering its recent
decision to disqualify fourteen presidential aspirants was another overwhelming
decision; everyone is amazed at the sudden turn of events, and the affected
parties must be more traumatized.
How the EC managed to nail
fourteen presidential hopefuls of various irregularities during filing
processes is a bit disturbing for many party followers, it is quite an
impressive feat.
This news has brought mixed
feelings, and thankfully there has not been any incidence of violence. History
has been made. While a few contenders remain, we must come to realize the
lessons this decision leaves.
THE
RULE OF LAW
This is a case of victory. Once
again, Ghanaians are allowing the law to work, instead of resorting to their
own personal decisions and hitting the roads with some war chants and ravings,
most of the disqualified presidential hopefuls have resorted to the courts to
have their cases settled amicably.
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I am very sure this news of
disqualifying presidential hopefuls would have brought about a lot of confusion
elsewhere on the continent. It is very common to find political aspirants
inciting violence when events do not turn out as planned. Especially in those
countries where people feel the need for a change of government, political
violence would have been the precursor to the general elections.
In Africa, many of its civil
conflicts have been started through political misunderstandings. In Gabon
presently, there is a scuffle as to who should become president, even after
elections.
Despite a court’s ruling on Ali Bongo’s win,
the opposition leader, Jean Ping, would not respect the decisions of the court,
and has asked his supporters to ‘remain vigilant and mobilized’. The opposition
leader has incited his supporters to believe that the court’s ruling was simply
‘unjust’.
Violent protests have followed
after the court’s ruling.
The rule of law connotes the
obedience of the law; and in this instance, to keep the peace and resort to
peaceful settlement of all disputes.
CIVIL
MATURITY
Some people simply refer to
Ghanaians as ‘timid’ people, because of our love for peace and deep seated
hospitality; but really, it is a huge sense of maturity that has kept us going
and has separated us from the rest.
Ghanaians are not timid people;
it is only a misinterpretation of what we have practiced over the years and has
stuck with us; the true value of respect of each other’s views and non-violence
approach to resolving differences.
SUPREMACY
OF THE CONSTITUTION
Article 1 (2) of the 1992
Constitution states ‘ This Constitution shall be the supreme law of Ghana and
any other law found to be inconsistent with any provision of this Constitution
shall, to the extent of the inconsistency, be void.’
The highest law of the land,
the constitution, has been upheld and exercised over the matter of
disqualification of presidential aspirants.
Wherever a country’s
constitution is subverted, there is said to be civil unrest, but thankfully
such was not the case in the country.
Even during the 2012 elections
which were contested in the courts after the decision of the Electoral
Commission, the two parties still resorted to the Constitution, and the court’s
decisions were adhered to after pronouncement of judgment.
THE
POWER OF THE TWO PARTY POLITICAL SYSTEM
Although the country is a
multi-party country, Ghana still practices the two- party political system,
where only two parties are recognized as the focal point to choose from the
whole lot.
You could easily find excitement on the faces
many others in the country. Hear the comments of people who assert that, this
action by the EC in no way undermines anything, because those fourteen
political parties were just on the scene to fill the gaps, and there was no way
they would win power!
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This system has the ability to
undermine democracy to some extent. Although the two parties are top choice of
the people, there is also an assertion that the others cannot exist and have
anything meaningful in the terrain of national development.
Who pays attention to these
parties that were disqualified?
Refusing to have any dealings
with other political parties is a confrontation on our ability to assess and
choose correctly. We need not choose political parties in such a manner. Paying
attention to other parties affords one to learn more. Listen to manifestoes
they present, and you would discover that they may have the solutions that we
all need.
The two-party system polarizes
the country on the need to have a flourishing democracy where other parties can
also have the chance to make decisions; refreshing presence is much needed too.
But this system only allows for the same kinds of political characters and
cadres.
It also creates division in
through the creation of supporters. Whenever violence sparks during elections,
it is supporters who are involved owing to the variances in ideologies.
Listen to comments being
passed; people are over-joyed at the disqualification of these parties. Would
any of the two main parties had been qualified if they had faulted too? The
spirit of the two-party system reigns supreme in Ghana.
A
DEBACLE OF IRREGULARITIES
Until the cancellation of the documents
of these fourteen aspirants, nobody really knew for sure if there have been
previous cases in the history general elections, which have been overlooked.
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There were such irregularities
as fraudulent signatures, absence of required number of signatures, improper
filing of nomination forms, among other faults discovered by the EC.
This punishment would always
serve as a deterrent for future elections; that if people have lost such a
great opportunity to run for public office, others would be more careful the
next time around.
The discovery and pinning of
these irregularities undermine the quality of electioneering in Ghana, and so a
strict correction and punishment of offenders is only one way of underscoring
the importance of applying strict measures to document filling and
presentation.
Wrongs have been corrected, but
painfully for these hopefuls.
The presidential office is a
lofty one, and should not be taken for granted.
LOOKING
FORWARD WITH VERVE
Who said Ghanaians cannot move
on? Life will go on as much as it used to. People will get over the trauma, and
while majority opt for the two-party political system, most people do not care
much about the fate of the other parties.
It is hoped that all will learn
from this bitter experience, and grant excellence to document filling. While
Ghanaians also learn some of these painful experiences, we would continue to
embrace and respect democracy as we have always done.
We have remained matured over
the years, and should continue on the journey.
