Election 2020: The peace we need
Humans would not have been superstitious, if they could handle all their circumstances by set rules or if they were always favoured by fortune.
Being frequently driven into straits where rules are useless and fluctuate pliably between hope and fear, by the uncertainty of fortune’s greedily coveted favours, humans are for the most part prone to credulity.
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It is, thus, understandable that most Ghanaians believe that their country is a peaceful country, blessed with peace by God Himself and it will be peaceful, no matter what happens. But this is a fallacy. We must work for and towards the peace we need.
Failure
The violence at Ayawaso West Wuogon, the failure of the main opposition and the government to resolve the issues of the violence during local level, Parliamentary and Presidential elections amicably, the regrettable dismissal of the Ayawaso West Wuogon Commission of Enquiry report in its white paper, the failure of state agencies like the Ghana Police Service to bring the perpetrators of the violence to book, are enough to remind Ghanaians of the need to drum home the necessity for peaceful elections this year.
Peaceful elections
The need for peaceful elections is more important than the elections itself. For if there is no peace before, during and after the elections, both the victor and the vanquished will have no reason to celebrate and lessons to learn, respectively.
Peace in Ghana is paramount, but not automatic, as assumed by many.
To ensure peaceful elections, the effort of all stakeholders, especially the major players like the Electoral Commission, the political parties and the government must instil trust, confidence, commitment and most importantly, patriotism in citizens. Current situations in the country, however, show meaningless verbal assurances of peace, with no commitment to same.
Posture
The unfortunate posture of the two major political parties, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) with regard to vigilante groups and the quest to disband them are worrying.
The seemingly stringent posture of the Electoral Commission (EC) in their quest to introduce a new voter’s register, even when the major players disagree is a recipe for disaster.
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The daily commentary by political activists and party surrogates, inflaming tensions is a powdered keg waiting to blast.
The lack of trust in the Ghana Police Service and other security agencies to deal with politically motivated issues without fear or favour is a dagger drawn ready to strike.
The inability of the judiciary to swiftly deal with political cases before them and severely punish offenders to serve as a deterrent to all is an anger in the bosom of many waiting to burst out.
Motivation
Anyone can become angry, that is easy. However, to be angry at the right person, to the right degree, at the right time for the right purpose and in the right way is not easy. This is the reason why in our quest to win elections, introspection is necessary to determine our true selves. Most people in Ghana are not interested in politics to serve, but interested in the benefit that it gives.
If our motivation for politics is wealth and riches, then of course, we will be ready to do anything to achieve our objective. The motivation of a true leader is to help improve upon lives.
Political parties who lose elections must realise that failure is a detour, not a dead end. State institutions should implement to the letter, rules and regulations that help better govern the country.
We must all realise that if God wanted us to live in a permissive society, he would have given us 10 suggestions and not the 10 Commandments.
As Shakespeare stated, the world is a stage where everyone must play a part. Play your part to ensure peaceful elections in Ghana. The benefits outweigh the costs.
The writer is a student of English, University of Education, Winneba
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E-mail: benonymullray@gmail.com