Hypocritical posturing

In the face of the diffused sentiments expressed about the open distribution of perishable and unperishable items during the primary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), the party purportedly set up a three-member committee to investigate the widespread incident of vote buying of the delegates on the day of an election to select a candidate for the party.

The action was supposed to be informed by the objective facts of protecting the integrity and sanctity of the franchise to ensure that whoever won deserved the popular vote of the delegates based on the true and sincere choice of the electorate.

As it has turned out, it was a ruse to defuse the growing and mounting justifiable outcry against the party from further embarrassment and condemnation.

It has turned out to be a ruse primarily because the committee did not exonerate any of the candidates with certainty from being free from the inducements.

Moreover, during the campaign towards the bye election last Tuesday, the General Secretary of the NDC, Fiifi Fiavi  Kwetey, openly supported  Baba Jamal by approving and commending the acts of inducement saying that the Majority MPs who called for the cancellation of the results by suggesting the annulment of the primary acted holier than thou since all of them have resorted to vote buying to get to where they are and that any one of them who claims to be clean and above reproach must come out to openly explain to the people what they have been doing to win elections and prove their innocence that they do not induce the electorate and party agents.

As our elders maintain, "se denkyem firi nsuo ase beka se bomokyikyie awu a yennye no akyinye", loosely translating as if the crocodile comes from under the water to say that a fish has died there, we cannot argue with him because we cannot go under the water to verify the truth or otherwise of the claim.

But that is where the findings of the committee chaired by veteran politician Mr Kofi Totobi Quakyi, with Inusah Fuseini and Ms Georgette Emefa Fugah, suggest otherwise.

The committee noted in reference to the injunction by Jesus Christ that whoever had never sinned must throw the first stone, at the lady caught in fornication that "the assertion that vote buying and inducement are historical precedents and that Ayawaso East primaries should therefore be exempt from scrutiny is immaterial to the core issue".

Indeed, it concluded that whatever happened during the primary was an inducement which could not be described in any euphemistic manner noting that "having examined the evidence before us, including video footage, candidate statements on the public record and statements from all aspirants, the committee is satisfied that widespread inducement and vote buying took place".

It meant that the victor could not confidently be described as the choice of the people.

Whilst the committee indicated that it could not state with certainty that all the agents received inducements or were influenced by the inducements on who they voted for, it nonetheless stated that "the distribution of items, such as, motorcycles and television sets on the day of the primary is by its very nature an act of inducement.

It is neither necessary nor reasonable to suppose that such gestures have no effect on human conduct; the natural and foreseeable response to the receipt of a material benefit in the context of a decision is that it influences that decision".

Concluded

Based on these findings, the committee concluded that the process be cancelled recommending that "the committee is of the view that the integrity of the process could best be protected by annulling the results", whilst admitting that its recommendation would result in complications based on the fact that there was little time to resolve matters and that the party's constitution has no specific provisions on annulment of results of an election based on vote buying.

It accordingly referred the matter to the Functional Executive Committee or the National Executive Committee of the party for final determination. 

It means, therefore, that the committee did not clear Baba Jamal to contest.

The committee, however, apart from smearing all the aspirants with vote buying, recognised all of them as critical members of the party who have contributed to its growth and importance.

But it was unequivocal about the fact that "it is neither necessary nor reasonable to suppose that such gestures have no effect on human conduct; the natural and foreseeable response to the receipt of a material benefit in the context of a decision is that it influences that decision"  

The committee noted that its recommendation was not directed at any candidate, but aimed at reforms within the party since "a party that aspires to represent all Ghanaians cannot permit a selection process that is in practice open only to the highest spender;  also stating "if the party is seen to tolerate in its primaries the very practices it has pledged to eradicate in national governance,  the resulting disillusionment will be swift and justified". 

The report equally said, "we must also speak to the disenfranchisement that vote buying produces.

When material inducements shape the outcome, the voices of delegates who voted on conviction are diminished".

With such forceful and unambiguous language, wherein lies the clearance by the committee that Baba Jamal was exonerated and cleared to contest.

Relevant

That is where Prof Soyinka becomes relevant.

It is the Functional or National Executive Committee of the NDC which can make regulations to stem what the committee has decried, but if the General Secretary after all what the three-member committee has recommended to the party to close in on such practices could encourage one of the supposed vote buyers not to mind the NDC Majority Caucus in Parliament about annulling the primary, then what good could come out of that.

It is fair to comment that having served as an MP before, he knows what he insists upon because he too might have paid for votes when he contested for the primary of the party at the time.

We surely cannot entrust a distillery in the hands of an alcoholic nor give meat to the hyena for safekeeping no matter how dry or rotten the meat.

Baba Jamal has cause to bask in glory, but his image is dented. He might have escaped the integrity test with the support of some NDC national executives, but he has lost respect in the court of public opinion.

With all the aspirants in the primary having compromised the process with mouthwatering inducements to buy the agents, is it any wonder that less than 40 per cent of the more than 43,000 turned up to cast their vote shrouded in allegations of gifts of rice?