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Are we seeing a
better Ghana now?
E. Ablorh-Odjidja, Ghanadot
If the above question were asked today, I would have to say not
yet. A better Ghana was President Mills’ promise. But judging by
what is going on at Akwatia now that political promise is way
off track.
August 18, 2009, is to be the date for a rerun for an election
that went awry in 2008 at Akwatia, at the close of which Dr. Kofi Asare, the NPP candidate was ahead of the NDC candidate, Baba
Jamal, with over 3000 votes.
The total votes left to be polled in the rerun to conclude the
elections are 4000. These votes are locked in six troubled
precincts at Akwatia.
Security risk for the rerun is running high. Concomitant with
the risk is the damage to the hard earned reputation of Ghana
being the most politically matured state among the nations of
Africa; hence President Obama’s visit.
While that reputation might be true for months prior to Obama’s
visit, it is hard to assert that claim today because of what is
happening at Akwatia.
With all the votes counted in majority of the precincts, Baba Jamal
will need a miracle to overcome the 3000 handicap with his share
of votes from the
remaining 4000.
Hence, the Electoral Commission (EC), with a little political
courage in 2008, should have declared that a favorable outcome for
Jamal was a mathematical impossibility. He could have spared us
the drama we are experiencing at Akwatia now by declaring Dr. Asare the winner, disturbances at the six
precincts at Akwatia in 2008 notwithstanding.
The EC could, with the above act, have spared the nation a lot
of headache, loss of political prestige and a waste of time,
The EC could then have used the occasion as a teaching moment.
For those running for public offices, there will be the lesson
that one cannot bend the public will with violence and
disturbances at the poll. The same lesson, that civilized
behavior is needed at the polls at all times, will serve to
undercut the influence of powerful politicians over the acts of
the illiterates who cause these disturbances.
But, thanks to the failure of the EC to act sternly, time and
money will be wasted on a rerun, the outcome of which should
already have been determined by the obvious; unless there is a
plan to upset Dr. Asare’s lead though foul means.
Given 3000 votes in the lead, it is hard to imagine how the NDC
candidate could overcome this handicap with only 4000 votes left
to contest for.
Baba Jamal will have to win more than 89% of the total votes
left in the six communities to be declared the winner. This
percentage, stacked up against the notion that the six
constituencies are purported to be leaning in NPP's favor, makes
Jamal’s task even harder.
Yet, the rerun has been scheduled to go on. As we wait for the
results, we also have to suffer the apprehension that
comes with knowing the damage the disorder at Akwatia is doing
to our image as the star of African political maturity.
What is happening at Nketia has already happened in Kenya,
Zimbabwe and several other places in Africa, so where is our
political maturity?
You may argue that this political maturity idea is a myth. Myth
or real, it was a pleasant experience that lasted throughout the Kufuor
years. And Obama was here to confirm it.
Essentially, myths are for nation building. It still requires
some tending even during changes in administrations. But now
that ugly forces within our midst are clamoring to be heard, the
election at Akwatia is ready to devour our pleasant myth.
According to news outlets, the trouble at Akwatia climaxed this
weekend. A motorcade of several NPP activists, on their way to
help with the elections, was stopped and some activists were
brutalized.
Among the victims were high officers of the NPP - Nana Ohene
Ntow and Mac Manu, National General Secretary and Chairman of
the NPP party, respectively. They were pummeled in the face.
Both were alleged to be seriously hurt with blood flowing
profusely from their noses.
The Daily Graphic wrote that during the confusion, Baba Jamal,
the NDC candidate, had to hide within the confines of the NDC headquarters
to escape the violence in the street and that he had
to be escorted to safety by the police while top officials of
the NPP, exposed to same danger, had no such escort.
The Akwatia election has shown the disparity in the claim we
make for ourselves as politically matured people and what we
really have become these days. Our history of political violence which
we thought was behind us is creeping back under the
guise of a “better Ghana.”
E.
Ablorh-Odjidja,Publsiher
www.ghanadot.com, Washington, DC, August 17, 2009
Permission to publish: Please feel free to publish or
reproduce, with credits, unedited. If posted at a website,
email a copy of the web page to
publisher@ghanadot.com . Or don't publish at all.
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