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Ghana -- Dangerously Polarized
Dr. George Ayittey
The situation in Ghana is infuriating. In Africa, we
take one step forward and then three steps back. Same
problems, same rituals and the repetition of the same
foolish mistakes in one country after another. We touted
Kenya as a “bastion of stability” in the East African
region; then after the Dec 2007 elections, “Poof!” it
imploded – over 1,200 dead and more than 500,000
rendered homeless. We show-cased Ivory Coast as an
“economic miracle.” Then came elections in November 2010
and “Kaboom!!” The country was plunged into civil war
with both Alassane Ouattara and Laurent Gbagbo claiming
the presidency. Same thing happened after Congo DR’s
elections in xxx 2011 elections with both Joseph Kabila
and Etienne Tshisekedi claiming they won. We praised
Mali as a model of good governance; then in March of
this year, “Boom!”-- a military coup. We have been
crowing about Ghana as a beacon of democracy that can
teach Africa a thing or two about peaceful transfer of
power – see this link: http://bit.ly/SAcpXs. Then uproar
over last week’s elections with at least 10 dead http://bit.ly/T4YEQi.
Now, Ghana’s democratic credentials are in danger of
being shredded. So tell me this: What at all can
governments and leaders do right in Africa?
• Practice democracy? Only 14 of the 54 African
countries are democratic.
• Develop their economies? Fewer than 10 are economic
success stories.
• Feed their people? We rely on foreign aid to feed
ourselves, importing food worth $25 billion a year. We
used to export food in the 1950s.
• Provide clean water, sanitation, health care and
reliable supply of electricity to their people without
constant black-outs? Only 30 percent of Nigerians have
access to reliable supply of electricity. It is an
oil-producing country but can’t supply refined petroleum
products for its people; it imports them.
• Provide railway transportation? Our railway system has
collapsed and we are asking the Chinese to fix it.
• Provide basic security for the people? Rather, the
security forces brutalize and turn their guns on the
people.
• Resolve conflicts? We are always appealing to the
United Nations or the international community.
There are just three things most of leaders know how to
do very well: Loot the treasury, perpetuate themselves
in office and squash all dissent or opposition. The late
Col Muammar Khaddafi amassed a family fortune exceeding
$60 billion; Hosni Mubarak, $42 billion; Ben Ali of
Tunisia, $13 billion; Mobutu Sese Seko, $10 billion;
Ibrahim Babangida, $9 billion; Omar al-Bashir of Sudan,
$7 billion; Sani Abacha, $5 billion, etc. etc. Eduardo
dos Santos of Angola, Theodore Obiang of Equatorial
Guinea, Paul Biya of Cameroon and Robert Mugabe of
Zimbabwe have each been in power for more than 30 years.
As for Yahya Jammeh of Gambia, he says he will rule for
one billion years. In Ethiopia, any journalist who
criticized the late Meles Zenawi was branded a
“terrorist” and tossed into jail. There are no private
journalists left in Eritrea; they have all fled brutal
repression. Each year, Mo Ibrahim awards a $5 million
prize to any African leader who steps down from power
after his term expires or loses an election. This year –
and for the third time since the inception of the prize
– he could not find an eligible recipient. The
leadership in much of Africa is a disgrace – a far cry
from the traditional leadership Africa has known for
centuries under our chiefs and kings.
I am not a card-carrying member of any political party –
either in Ghana or the US – and I care less who is the
winner of the December elections. I am not interested in
the presidency of any African country. If we are doing
something, we must do it well; it is a duty we owe to
the country, our children and future generations. Our
primary concern should be the integrity of the electoral
process, rule of law and Ghana’s reputation as a beacon
of democracy. That is what all Ghanaians must defend and
protect.
Holding elections should not be that complicated. There
are 5 stages of the electoral process:
1. Registering and compiling a list of eligible voters
(voter’s registry), identifying polling stations and
setting a date for elections.
2. Transporting ballots, ballot boxes and other
materials to the polling stations and allowing people to
vote freely without any hindrance or intimidation.
3. Counting the votes in a transparent manner with
representatives of all political parties present. There
is a “collation sheet” at each polling station which
they must sign to verify that the counting was accurate.
4. Resolving any discrepancies in the numbers and any
other disputes to the satisfaction of all parties.
5. Announcing the results.
Problems can occur at each of these stages:
1. Ineligible voters may be registered – for example,
minors or citizens of neighboring countries; some
eligible voters – say supporters of a particular party –
purged from the voter rolls. Or the register may be
inflated with fictitious or ghost names.
2. On election day, ballot materials may not arrive on
time; ballot boxes may arrive already stuffed; voters
may be prevented from casting their ballots through
intimidation, beatings by hired thugs; indelible ink can
easily be washed off, allowing some people to vote
multiple times, though this is not possible with the
current biometric system but the machines can break
down, etc.
3. In vote counting, the media and election observers –
both foreign and domestic – may be debarred from polling
stations to witness the actual voting. Not all ballots
may be properly marked and must be rejected. There may
be a sudden black-out, forcing votes to be counted in
the dark or by candles, flashlight and lanterns. A fake
tally sheet may be substituted for the real one and
polling agents may be bribed to sign off on it. Polling
agents of some parties may not even be there.
4. Resolving inconsistencies, discrepancies and
disputes. This stage may be skipped altogether. The
Electoral Commissioner may act arbitrarily, refuse to
engage or consult with reps of the political parties,
and rush to announce the results. Or he may engage them
but intimidate, bludgeon or railroad them into accepting
his final results.
5. The last stage is announcing the results. Obviously,
the final results must be certified by all parties
BEFORE they are announced. This is to ensure that all
issues – inconsistencies, discrepancies, etc. – have
been resolved to the satisfaction of all parties before
the results are announced. What if voting in some
polling station is not complete or votes are still being
counted, or some ballot boxes are missing?
Certainly, there were problems during Ghana’s elections:
Allegations that the voters’ register had been padded
with over 5 million ghost names; ballot papers did not
arrive on time, forcing the extension of voting to the
next day, instances of voter intimidation, etc. The
following incidents were reported on Twitter: #ghanaelections:
• Ayigya EC polling officer arrested for not stamping
over 200 ballots cast!
• Snatching of #BallotBoxes here and there... Manhyia,
Kentinkrono, Ablekuma,
• Chaos at Ablekuma North constituency. Voting has been
halted.
• Voting in Mbrom polling centre to be deferred
• The DCE of Walewale has reportedly been arrested for
allegedly snatching a ballot box but was later released.
• Unconfirmed report says there are still no materials
at the Dome Kwabenya constituency
• The citizens of Nkwanta South in the Volta Region say
they are not voting for lack of dev. in the area.
• Reports that an NDC supporter has just been beaten to
death in the Ashanti region?
• A tear gas shot at the Ablekuma North Constituency to
deter people from creating confusion
• Just heard of a guy who got lynched while running with
a ballot box at Ayeduase, Kumasi.
• Verification machine not recognizing the thumb of Dr
Wireko Brobbey
Considering the fact that there were over 26,000 polling
stations, these incidents were minor. The Coalition of
Domestic Election Observers (CODEO), for example,
reported incidents of intimidation and harassment at
only 13 polling stations – less than 0.01 percent.
http://bit.ly/STqAqe. Media access was also generally
free. Here are the views of Rebecca, a first time voter
on video http://bit.ly/TYtHMo
Stages 1, 2, and 3 appeared to have gone smoothly,
earning the Electoral Commissioner, Dr. Kwadwo
Afari-Gyan, high praise from all quarters – from ECOWAS,
AU, both foreign and domestic observers. However, it
appears stages 4 and 5 were seriously compromised. I
warned about this, referencing Josef Stalin, who once
quipped: “It is not those who vote that count (matter)
but rather those who count the votes.” Voting can occur
smoothly – free and fair without intimidation or
violence, as was observed on Dec 7 and 8. But that is
not the full story. Counting of the votes and tabulation
of the results can be falsified or doctored. But such
errors can be easily detected and rectified.
The Constitution provides a mechanism for remedial
action. Chapter 7, Section 49 states:
(1) At any public election or referendum, voting shall
be by secret ballot.
(2) Immediately after the close of the poll, the
presiding officer shall, in the presence of such of the
candidates or their representatives and their polling
agents as are present, proceed to count, at that polling
station, the ballot papers of that station and record
the votes cast in favor of each candidate or question.
((3) The presiding officer, the candidates or their
representatives and, in the case of a referendum, the
parties contesting or their agents and the polling
agents if any, shall then sign a declaration stating:
(a) the polling station; and
(b) the number of votes cast in favor of each candidate
or question: and the presiding officer shall, there and
then, announce the result of the voting at the polling
station before communicating them to the returning
officer.
http://www.judicial.gov.gh/constitution/chapter/chap_7.htm
Now, if there is a dispute over the results all that
needs to be done is to cross-check EC’s numbers with
those on the “collation sheets” signed by the
representatives of the political parties at each polling
station and then correct any discrepancies between them.
That was all that needed to be done. But was this done?
If not then do it. That is what transparency is all
about. If a dispute still remains, the Constitution
provides a mechanism for resolving it. Chapter 8,
Section 64 states clearly that:
(1) The validity of the election of the President may be
challenged only by a citizen of Ghana who may present a
petition for the purpose to the Supreme Court within
twenty-one days after the declaration of the result of
the election in respect of which the petition is
presented.
(2) A declaration by the Supreme Court that the election
of the President is not valid shall be without prejudice
to anything done by the President before the
declaration.
(3) The Rules of Court Committee shall, by
constitutional instrument, make rules of court for the
practice and procedure for petitions to the Supreme
Court challenging the election of a President. http://www.judicial.gov.gh/constitution/chapter/chap_8.htm
Now, if Nana Akuffo-Addo or any other Ghanaian believes
the election was “stolen,” he or she has the right to
petition the Supreme Court within 21 days after the
declaration of the results and let the Court rule on it.
This is known as following procedures and obeying the
Constitution – or, in short, enforcing the rule of law.
The streets or the airwaves are not the place to resolve
constitutional issues. The president of Ghana is
required to uphold and defend the Constitution. If any
citizen of Ghana seeks to challenge the validity of
December’s election by petitioning the Supreme Court,
the president of Ghana is required to support that
person because the Constitution guarantees that person
the right to do so. Even in our supposedly “backward and
primitive” traditional system, a goat with a grievance
is given a full public hearing.
This is not an issue to be cast in “NDC versus NPP”
terms and polarize the country. Only 50.7 percent voted
for the president, John Mahama, meaning nearly half did
not vote for him and not all of them are NPP supporters.
If any of those who did not vote for him has a
grievance, he has a guaranteed Constitutional right to
petition the Supreme Court. Why even argue over this?
Even more important, once the issue is brought before
the Supreme Court, it should be allowed to deliberate on
it and reach a decision without any intimidation or
political interference. Nana Akuffo-Addo, the main
opposition leader, will present his petition to the
Supreme Court on Friday, Dec 14. Until the Supreme Court
makes a final decision, all other things relating to the
elections, transition inauguration activities, etc. must
be placed on hold -- no celebrations or street
demonstrations to protest results. Any such activity
before the Court rules must be deemed to be in contempt
of the Supreme Court. Democratic maturity mandates
following the Constitution and allowing the Supreme
Court to make its determination.
These issues, it must be emphasized, are not without
precedence and not unique to Ghana or Africa alone. Even
in the US November elections, there were allegations of
vote fraud http://bit.ly/V5b7Sz and vote suppression
http://bit.ly/SJALx7 And Mitt Romney, like all losing
candidates who find some excuse to blame for their
losses, blamed his loss on Obama buying votes by giving
“gifts” to certain block of constituencies. One may also
recall the dispute over the election results in Florida
in the Bush versus Gore 2000 elections that made famous
the term “hanging chads,” The US Supreme Court
eventually settled that dispute http://bit.ly/125tGg9.
We may choose to resolve our electoral disputes as laid
down in the Constitution or in the streets with
cutlasses and bazookas. The choice is ours to make but
we should remember this: The destruction of an African
country always always begins with a dispute over the
electoral process and transfer of power: Algeria (1991),
Burundi (1993), Nigeria (1993), Rwanda (1994), Zaire
(1996) and more recent examples include Kenya (2007),
Zimbabwe (2008), Ivory Coast (2011), Libya (2011), among
others.
So let us continue to repeat the same stupid mistakes
again and again.
_____________________________________
The author is a native of Ghana. He is the president
of Free Africa Foundation in Washington, DC and author
of Defeating Dictators, Palgrave/MacMillan, 2011.
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