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Has the Electoral
Commission set the stage for Election 2016?
By Dr. Michael J.K. Bokor
Saturday, January 2, 2016
Folks, the Electoral Commission says that it will not
compile any new voters register for Election 2016. Its
decision was based on the recommendations of the 5-member
panel that it had set up to gather views from the citizens
and identifiable organizations (political parties, civil
society groups, etc.). (See
http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/EC-says-no-to-new-Voters-Register-404465).
Meantime, while the NDC is supporting the EC's stance, the
NPP and its affiliates or lackeys in the mushroom political
parties backing its stentorian demand for a new register are
chafing. The Let My Vote Count Alliance has already come out
to condemn the EC for not bowing to pressure. (See http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/LMVC-rejects-EC-report-on-voters-register-vows-to-go-to-court-404662).
Folks, what next? It's as simple as ABC. Why would the NPP
and its allies be condemning the existing register as
bloated and discredited but at the same time participate in
bye-elections conducted by the EC, using the same register?
What sort of dangerous hypocrisy is this?
Again, considering the economic situation, it is impossible
for the EC to be funded adequately to compile a new
register.
Third, what guarantee is there that whatever necessitated
the "bloating" of the existing register that the NPP and its
allies are condemning will not occur again?
Fourth, is it not possible that the demand for a new
register is part of a hidden agenda for some citizens living
in certain parts of the country to be disfranchised as is
being speculated that the exercise toward compiling a new
register will give certain political parties the clout to
prevent them from voting where they live?
Finally, after rejecting the EC's decision, what will these
NPP people and their allies do? Mount more pressure on the
EC? Or what? Certainly, they cannot afford to boycott the
elections or abstain from the processes leading to Election
2016. So, what next for them? Sabotage? Go round the world
again to do what for the EC to change its stance? Can the EC
even change its stance no matter what they say or do?
I have continued to say that although technicalities matter
in general elections, they don’t automatically ensure
electoral victory for those fixated on them. And the voters
register is a technicality. The EC has pledged to continue
cleaning the existing register whenever possible, even as it
registers newly qualified prospective voters and deletes the
names of deceased ones. It has called for cooperation from
the various political parties on that score. Its meetings
with the parties under the auspices of the Inter-Party
Advisory Committee have always been beneficial. It says it
lacks funds for anything such as compiling a new voters
register; and the government has equally reiterated its
resolve not to over-spend money just because there will be
elections this year. What more can it do?
Winning or losing Election 2016 depends on what the
political parties do or fail to do. Those seeking to replace
the NDC administration need not concentrate on mere
technicalities. They should go to the voters with convincing
messages and put in place measures to ensure vigilance at
the polls. They needn’t remain fixated on their
anachronistic rogue and book politics of threatening to
cause violence if their demands are not met or if they lose
the elections. Neither should they go about making
“huhudious” promises to irritate the electorate. The people
already know that such cheap politicking is a mere political
gimmick. They have ample evidence of promises being cheaply
made by those seeking power who couldn’t fulfill them once
their dreams came true. So, why tempt them?
Furthermore, those embarking on the politics of calumny,
ethnocentricism, and other negative traits won’t win the
hearts and minds of the people. After all, insults can’t do
better than persuasive messages on what those seeking to
replace the incumbent can do better to solve problems. That
is why any move by the NPP, especially, to engage those
insulting their flagbearer in a toe-to-toe verbal warfare
won’t wash with the electorate. The people already know what
they need to know about him. So, why waste time trading
insults?
For the incumbent NDC administration too, there is a lot to
do to retain power. So much has been invested in the
politics of infrastructural development that one might be
tempted to conclude that Election 2016 is a done deal for
it. Unfortunately, it isn’t so, clearly because there is a
lot more for the people to consider beyond the development
projects in front of their eyes. They will need to be told
why the government couldn’t solve major problems to assuage
fears, doubts, and suspicions. The future of the country is
what they will juxtapose with the government’s policies and
how much it has been able to do after being given the
mandate, what it has failed to do, and why it is necessary
at all to retain it in power.
In that regard, then, the EC’s decision not to compile a new
voters register throws a huge challenge to the various
political parties. They should accept it in good faith and
move on to connect with the electorate instead of wasting
time and resources crying over spilt milk, organizing street
demonstrations, and eroding their support base thereby.
Folks, has the EC set the stage for good or bad? Over to the
various political parties!!
I shall return…
• E-mail: mjbokor@yahoo.com
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to continue the conversation
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