Ever since Ghana re-ushered itself into party politics, not a single week has passed without one cataclysmic event, pronouncement or another.
If it is not the unmasking of a thief or a scam, it is the exchange of fisticuffs in the House of Parliament.
This week has been no exception.
A case was settled in court that has the potential to cool the political temperature by a few Celsius, down considerably from its usually sweltering 100° C.
By a 5-2 majority decision, the Supreme Court of Ghana on Tuesday, July 28, declared unconstitutional the delegate-based Electoral College systems used by political parties to select parliamentary and presidential candidates.
It ruled that all party members in good standing must be allowed to vote in internal primaries.
Even the three plaintiffs were yet another Fourth Republic surprise.
Two of them were not characters you ever thought you would meet in court over a constitutional dispute: Prof. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng and Dr Christine Amoako-Nuamah. Dr Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe brings up the rear.
The three had argued in court that the delegate system “offends the democratic principles enshrined in the 1992 Constitution” by disenfranchising ordinary party members.
By this ruling, the Court finally took action on an evil which the rest of Ghana had, since the return of party politics, only wrung its hands, banged its fist on the table, snarled and whined about.
In its judgement, the Supreme Court agreed that “the delegate system creates a limited electoral market that is vulnerable to money politics.”
Under the delegate system, it has been possible for Baba Jamal to win the parliamentary by-election in Ayawaso East, in spite of irrefutable proof of vote-buying.
In the news, we all saw delegates walking away triumphantly with a TV set each.
As usual, Ghanaians marshalled justification to whitewash the sin.
Some said Jamal was a known philanthropist in the constituency; that it was not unusual for him to be dishing out bags of rice and money to the people.
The NDC, which had initially expressed outrage, saying it was scandalised by the barefaced act of cheating, eventually buckled under and welcomed Jamal’s victory.
It was not the first time Ghana was hearing of Baba Jamal.
In 2011, Baba, then-Deputy Minister of Information, in an address to staff at the Information Services Department (ISD), asked them to make the government look good at all costs, even if it required pure falsehoods.
"If the government buys sheep and gives it as a gift, you are free to say it is a cow.
If the colour of the sheep is black, you can say it was a white colourful cow."
Examples of vote-buying are legion. In a recent event involving the Ayawaso West Wuogon Constituency, the practice popularly known as “treating” was on ugly display in the open.
Incumbent MP, Lydia Seyram Alhassan, was filmed supplying food to voters during the December 2 special voting exercise.
My worry is not someone wanting to become an MP or President.
My worry is: What is the significant contribution do these MPs make to national development by their presence in Parliament?
For most of them, it is next to zilch. Of course, they’d tell you they make their contribution at Select Committee meetings.
Pooh! More than one-half of MPs have not opened their mouths in the House except to say “Yee-yeh” or to bang their fists on the table chanting when the President or a Minister goes to the House to give the State of the Nation Address or to answer for their ministry.
Still at the Supreme Court this week, there was good news and bad news when the Court made a ruling in the case involving the Office of Special Prosecutor.
Good news: it unanimously upheld the constitutionality of the OSP Act.
Bad news: it ruled that the Attorney-General retains the ultimate constitutional authority to discontinue prosecutions initiated by the OSP.
Bad news? Simple: Waving a nolle prosequi licence, an Attorney-General can step in to discontinue a case involving a party member, a President’s favourite or the A.G’s own nephew.
Knowing the high-profile nature of corruption cases in Ghana, not unusually involving political characters, should an Attorney-General, who is the government lawyer and member of the ruling party, be given so much discretionary power?
Given, also, that most nolle prosequi decisions in Ghana have involved party-people, this ruling, to my mind, is dangerous. It would one day be cited as one of the rulings that sounded the death knell of democracy in Ghana.
I am not a lawyer, so I normally quote lawyers whom I consider tenacious and analytical - lawyers like Ace Anan Ankoma, Samson Lardi-Anyenini and Kofi Bentil.
One lawyer whose word is becoming the say-so in politico-legal cases is Martin Kpebu. On television this week, he said that a citizen who is being prosecuted by the OSP can petition the Attorney-General and the latter can cancel the prosecution forthwith, AND HE/SHE is not obliged to explain themselves.
That’s a noose around the neck of democracy!
The writer is the Executive Director, Centre for Communication and Culture.
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