First it was the National Democratic Congress’ gripe over the lawful appointment of Jean Adukwei Mensa as the Electoral Commissioner, after Charlotte Osei had been lawfully removed from office.
Then the NDC, flexing political muscle, began agitations against the EC’s decision to create a new voters’ register for the 2020 general elections. This, too, was fought on two fronts: agitation and threats on the ground as well as the NDC, later going to court to prevent the Commission from carrying out what it thought was a constitutional mandate.
The NDC lost on the trot and fell in step with the decision, as both parties got embroiled in excesses which the Ghana Police Service owes the good people a responsibility to deal with.
Lame COVID-19 excuses
Before that, the NDC had made quite some noise about ‘the need’ to suspend the voter registration processes, citing COVID-19 and the safety of the population, though the party was later to shift post when security agencies who were monitoring the closure of all borders in Ghana, as was being done globally, and complained about only residents in the Volta Region being ‘threatened’.
And the propaganda was huge, almost infecting the traditional and religious community as well as youth associations in the Volta Region with political connections.
Significantly, the loudest in the chain of griping leaders and cadres was the NDC’s presidential candidate, former President John Dramani Mahama, who all of a sudden began acting as if he loved the region more than the owners, who he conspired to remove from the leadership of the NDC at national congress, including Kofi Portuphy and Dan Abodakpi.
All’s well that ends well
Somehow, after the storm, the EC was able to live out its time table, running the processes to the surprise and shock of even the NDC flagbearer, who is now obliged to commend the Commission for a good job. Unfortunately, while the lawful mopping up and follow-up exercise was being prosecuted, names that had not been properly inputted gave the NDC an excuse for the umpteenth time to gripe again, though commonsense should tell us that the EC would never know which names are NDC and which are NPP.
First, it was Ashaiman and then the almighty Volta Region, with Ghanaians being told that a reason for the shooting and anarchy in Volta Region, led by the Western Togoland secession group, was because of the saga of “missing names.” Balderdash! But that’s how a party that has had the privilege of being in government before could expose itself as anarchists.
2012 tenterhooks
With former President John Dramani Mahama tacitly asking Ghanaians to expect confusion when voting gets underway on December 7, and the results are announced, we believe he should be made to explain himself better in the same manner any other Ghanaian may face the law if he descends to that level.
For a presidential candidate who has zero record of winning any elections in Ghana credibly, his claims that the 2020 general elections will be rigged is not only nonsensical but dangerous. That is why we at the Daily Statesman believe he should be made to understand that Ghana is bigger than him and his band of crooked politicians.
We know that the NDC abounds in some good, responsible and accomplished persons; but we also know that not all such sincere persons may be able to fight openly the vile intentions of a ‘stranger’ who has turned into a landlord by accident.
But that is why, more importantly, we call on the relevant stakeholders to warn the former president before he gets his fingers burnt by the law or nemesis.