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Election 2008
Ghana, a biting moment
E.
Ablorh-Odjijda, Ghanadot
Perhaps, a demonstration of Ghana’s budding democracy has taken
place in the 2008 elections. Amidst the fear of stolen elections
and power sharing mongering came the revelation that the NPP
administration can be fair with the electoral process.
Until yesterday, before the runoff was announced, many Ghanaians
would not have wanted to be in the shoes of any of the front
running candidates as the margin separating them got narrower.
Today, the one touch victory hoped for by either party has not
materialized. But one can definitely say that there is a victory
to celebrate and lessons to be learned by all Ghanaians.
When the final results were released by the Electoral
Commission, they showed that Nana Akufo-Addo, the NPP candidate,
was still maintaining his lead by a margin of some 124,000
votes.
With the front candidate, Nana Addo that is, lacking the needed
51% of the votes, the Electoral Commission called for a runoff
between the top two contestants. That makes it Nana Akufo-Addo,
NPP, versus John Evans Atta-Mills of the NDC, round two.
Nana Akufo-Addo had 49.34 per cent of the votes cast while John
Evans Atta Mills, candidate for the main opposition party, the
National Democratic Congress (NDC), had 47.77 per cent.
Unfortunately for the CPP, its candidate Dr. Ndoum, despite
promises following the presidential debates, came in a distant
third with 1.38 per cent of the votes. He will not have any
consequential impact on either of the leading candidate’s
chances in the runoff. He was also the first of the presidential
candidates to concede defeat.
Whether Dr. Nduom concession came from the heart or was an
opportunist attempt to suck up to the potential winner of the
2008 presidential race is another matter. Already, people
suspect him of the latter.
The CPP, however, has a great tradition and should sense prevail
within the leadership of its fragmented base, their chance for a
return to government is a potential worth dedication and
exploration.
As for the remaining parties, their impact on the whole race was
negligible; an impact bordering on nuisance and they would
remain inconsequential in national elections for the longest
term in their present states.
The above situation calls for another look at our election laws,
followed by a mandate that disallows any party or individual
with less than 1% of the vote cast in a previous national
election from running again in the next one. The electoral
process should be more serious. Democracy should not allow any
crank pot with an ego wish to waste our time.
While the whole conduct of the electoral process was exemplary,
there were a number of troubling signs exposed: the presence of
tribal politics in some regions and the failure of the NPP to
deliver its message as the most successful administration since
Nkrumah.
After all, the whole world, including the rest of Africa, is
hailing the political, social and economic transformation that
has taken place during the two terms of the Kufuor's
administration. Yet it was the NDC that, seemingly, has grabbed
the political attention of the Ghanaian public.
And what was the message of the NDC going into the polls?
Charges of corruption, inefficiencies of governance and abuses
of power against the Kufuor’s government! The question the
Ghanaian public never got to hear asked was “compared to what?”
The charges of human rights abuses against the Kufuor government
are laughable when compared to what happened during the PNDC/
NDC era. First time voters who were born in the 80s never got a
chance to see pictures and videos of brutal force of governance
and the public executions that took place during that era.
It is highly probably that many of the first time voters opted
for the NDC. Not having matured enough to understand the nuances
of political issues, they had confused bravado of statements
with political intent and capability.
Also, the evidence so far is that a good portion of our populace
lacks understanding as to what goes into national development
beyond bread and butter issues. Food prices are high. Energy
crisis, increases in fuel costs? Blame it on government – all of
it.
Remember the days when the Tema Motorway and Akosombo Dam were
classified as “white elephants”? When cans of sardine and milk
were classified as essential commodities? The same
pronouncements are being made against some of the current
development projects.
There are public works under construction the merits of which
people are seriously questioning. Why the Presidential Palace?
Why build the Motorway extension now when people are hungry, and
is that social justice?
For one, the money for the Motorway Extension is not ours. The
money for the Palace is part a very soft loan and part a gift.
For another, the building and construction of the motorway puts
money into the pockets of the very people who would otherwise be
hungry without the employment opportunities provided by the
projects.
Then there is the matter of the tribal politics earlier
mentioned.
As was reported by the Daily Graphic, the Ashanti Region
remained the stronghold for NPP just as the Volta Region was for
the NDC. This time around, the NDC, however, was reported to
have gained some grounds in the Ashanti Region, increasing its
electoral take from “398,362 in 2004 to 423,185 in 2008, an
increase of 24,823 votes,” according to the Daily Graphic.
According to the same Graphic “in the Volta region the NPP lost
1,075 votes reducing its total votes from 100,659 votes in 2004
to 99,584 votes in 2008.”
The victory margins in the two regions may spell a growing
strength for the NDC in Ashanti and a declining one for the NPP
in the Volta region. It may also point to a measure of how less
tribalistic the people of the Ashanti Region are becoming.
It must be said that the NDC, to its credit, has done
impressively well this time around. How well they will do in
the runoff is another matter. The message they had that the
elections would be stolen did not turn out to be correct. The
NPP has proven that it can conduct a very fair national
election. Victory goes to them on that mark.
Should the NDC become the eventual winner of the runoff, that
eventuality may provide a perfect book end for the Kufuor
administration.
The NDC can improve on Kufuor's performance just like the latter
did on Nkrumah's nation building ideas. Or, they can choose to
reverse Kufuor's achievements. For the noise the NDC has made
about the outgoing administration, just matching its
accomplishments alone will not be enough. But it is all up to
the NDC. History will be too glad to record its performance in
office too.
E. Ablorh-Odjidja,Publsiher
www.ghanadot.com,
Washington, DC, December 10, 2008
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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