Why Election 2016 is mother of all elections
It is good to be back on the block, even if for just a few hours. It is just like the old days, good or bad, writing under periods of fear and emasculation, during military times and periods when it was bliss to be alive as a writer under the short-lived democratic rule of Dr Hilla Limann and the Fourth Republic. Even in these “free” days, there are moments that spell a possible relapse into the era of the Culture of Silence.
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In the last 15 years since I left journalism and moved into the exciting and challenging world of diplomacy and eventually becoming a media regulator, I have observed from afar many developments on the local and international scenes which in the past would have seen my adrenaline pushing for a comment, particularly in the last column I wrote — BACK ON THE BLOCK.
For this one moment that I must pretend is like the old and bad days of the past, permit me to share a few thoughts on Election 2016
Election 2016, in the 59th year of our existence as a nation — the year of Our Lord before the 60th anniversary of Ghana’s Independence — must, in the phraseology of Saddam Hussein, be the mother of all elections.
I have, in my own voting life, witnessed and participated in many elections: 1979, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012. From 1951 to 1956, and, of course, in 1969, there were successive elections, each of them defining and determining the history of Ghana.
So in a way Election 2016 may be no different from the epoch-making elections of the past, particularly those elections in the Gold Coast under the eagle eyes of the colonial government which saw Nkrumah and the Convention People’s Party (CPP) tradition as the strongest tradition in Ghana’s history.
In 1956, it was not clear that Ghana’s independence would arrive in 1957, as there was opposition to Ghana making the fast route to independence.
But thanks to the determination of Nkrumah and his comrades, the British acceded to the massive surge for freedom, a process started in the 18th century by the Aborigines Rights Protection Society.
Whoever emerges the winner in the 2016 elections will take office a few months before Ghana’s 60th anniversary. It will have all the sweet sentiments reminiscent of assuming power in the year of our liberation from the bondage of colonial rule.
Sentiments aside, the stakes for the elections are, indeed, high for the so-called big and even smaller parties.
For the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and its flag bearer, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, this is a must-win election. After two attempts at the Presidency in 2008 and 2012, this third bid could be his last and, therefore, all efforts will be put in the elections as never before, since another defeat could put the NPP into the political wilderness.
President Mahama will equally see the elections as an opportunity to have another four years, in his own right, to leave a legacy of transforming lives and carry on the Umbrella tradition.
He has in his fold a generation of young politicians who cannot see life outside power. In fact, this generation has a big stake in continuity and would want to keep the Elephant in the Bush.
Undoubtedly, the race for political power, for the Flagstaff House, is a battle between the NPP and the NDC. The smaller parties know this fact, even if they continue to say it louder than the NPP and the NDC that, come January 7, 2017, they will be at the Flagstaff House.
The CPP is no longer the all-conquering party that Nkrumah’s CPP was. It is a dismembered party with a large majority of its traditional adherents now in the NDC. It has only a seat in Parliament and its best chance of retaining this single digit representation in Parliament lies in the Jomoro Constituency, where Samia Yaba Nkrumah will struggle to win.
Equally, the other Nkrumaist party, the People’s National Convention (PNC), currently with only two seats in Parliament, will be in a battle to retain these two seats and possibly add one or two.
The Progressive People’s Party (PPP) is a party of great ideas and vision. In its Founder, Dr Paa Kwesi Nduom, the party has a proven leader, but its battle will largely be one of making a massive presence in the parliamentary elections, a task made very difficult considering the political consideration and voting pattern of the electorate.
Almost all the aspiring independent presidential candidates know best why they are in the race.
All the tension and political temperature will be generated around the Big Two, the NDC and the NPP.
Ghana must move into 2017 a peaceful, united and stable nation. The two major parties must, therefore, go into the elections with a high regard for this consideration.
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The same is expected of the smaller parties.
Above all, all state institutions charged with some responsibility for free, fair and peaceful elections must be faithful to the prosecution of their agenda.
Already, all eyes are on the Electoral Commission (EC), and rightly so, for in all tournaments and contests, the role of the arbiter is crucial. So it is expected that the EC will ensure that the elections are perceived to be free and fair.
As with all contests, there will be losers and winners and all related complaints should not be constructed on charges of bias and partiality on the part of the main referee.
Similarly, the security agencies, the media and the National Media Commission should so conduct themselves in a way that history does not blame them for any mayhem that befalls our beloved nation.
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Finally, our politicians should put the national interest above everything, knowing that NO CONDITION IS EVER PERMANENT; that along the line the loser of today can emerge the winner of tomorrow.