‘Campaign -2024’ has started. Remarks made and or attributed to the President recently, triggered it. ‘I shall do everything in my power’’ that the NDC’s John Mahama does not become president again, he said. (Mahama was his immediate predecessor). Unlike precedence, the declaration riled little to nil euphoric comment. The meaning of that unusual silence is that the ballot is further down the months and the outcome could be either way. But the phrasing ‘’I am going to, or shall do …’’ has been aggregated to suggest ‘’rigging’’ as an intent. That suits political opponents. A counter reverses that interpretation. The former and the latter are speculations. It is not though simple to presume and drop off. The reason is both have basis; from the opposed interpretations of criticised acts from the electoral commission and alleged electoral histories.
One side disapproves. The other side sees nothing the matter wrong. IPAC is split and the EC is stranded but braves the isolation. All is not well adding the parliamentary non-co-operation or stand still. These series give the second cause for the unchallenged ill-will and leads to reluctance or hasten the validity of the “rigging’’ and all the conspiracy theories making the rounds, more forcefully today than previously. I can freeze this section for a background to support or dismiss summary judgments. Among the sparse conclusions to accuse the president is too openly biased. He hasn’t been discreet, in other words, because [i] he is the leader of the whole country. That, I guess would be bolstered by “in my power’’ as phrased in his determination. Without that, politics won’t fault him. [ii] But in a country of rumours and suppositions which command greater credence than truth, the “yeses’’ are likely to overwhelm even the “nyeses’’ (doubts) to deny the “nays.’’ That would seem to make it safe to accept the apprehension-interpretation for each-way- betting, bearing that public opinion has always thought every EC is the proxy-agent of successive governments throughout our history since independence 1957. The memorable exceptions would be Dr Kwadwo Afari-Djan and before him, Justice I.K.Abban, the Chief Justice later.
I owe it to history to write these exceptions. Despite these early days yet, the beginning of the campaign has started—not in so earnest though. The signs of evidence are poignantly deduced from series of advice to contenders through either media direct interviews or live programmes and off the cuffs remarks and public lectures of persons with opinions. These are sandwiched by for example a post-budget demo, discountable. And an added cautious or open-ended-punditry. The demo betrayed something reminiscent from our history of political partying propaganda. Firstly, the juicy bit for those involved and purpose. The demo was obviously staged. Whether it is false or not, none can deny them their right. Police permit? Their theme was praising the proposed relieves to public servants. I think it was clearly premature because the budget is yet to be debated, passed and authorised by parliament as split as that.
But other fundamental reason for their joy is: apart from inalienable right, it underlines the hardships hitherto, discarding the likely presumed as certain provocative political insinuation of their song’s lyrics. To that extent, the every small on the pay cheque and or perks shall be looked at from “ketsewa biara nsuar” –no droplets are small, taken philosophically. And the doubt is coming so close on the heels of budget, reminds my generation of the CPP era. We have seen that severally before as designed propaganda. The purpose was always, to conjure popularity, home and abroad. There are rising parallel snippets in recent days. But they fill in another sector of what is ll the l inadequate publicity and tugged with the all too familiar charge of bias and perhaps even corrupt. The same indices are an excellent source for pundits. But in the interim, we are hearing galore of advisories. Each and all so far, have gravitated to the one line advocating “not many promises”. The experience here is that the ‘one-man-thousand-pledges’ neither deliver, nor ever completely. The unfinished business among the lists flagged with pump pre-election’s, present a constitutional issue relative to the four-year or straight eight years tenure term’. It looks time to take another second look.
Whereas it has been a boon for “THIRD TERMISM” throughout Africa and elsewhere, no one can guarantee the future here. We disliked the “LIFE PRESIDENCY” and the 1966 coup terminated it, it stalks. The formula for a resolution might be to ask contestants to index completion of their undertakings to verified deadline before the close of each four-year term, veritably compelling for thought, unlike our national habit. Indeed, I should add that both our national DNA and slip-shod attitudes have been changing and the morphing shilly-shallies but extant during the last two decades, comparatively with the earlier periods of excess gullibility or the “Tsoo buei tsoo buei”. During the early 50s, there were small parties and associations. Their goals were as if the country had become big treasure trove whose booty was to be shared by entitlement-demand. Some were regional or ethnic –the Northern Peoples Party [NPP], Togo Congress [TC—Ablode] and Ga Shifimokpe; others assumed national affixes–Ghana Congress [GC] and National Liberation Movement [NLM]. And not to be left out was MAP [Moslem Association Party].
The real first national political party, the Convention Peoples Party (CPP) was born out of protest on June 12,1949 from the UGCC (United Gold Coast Convention, the Gold Coast’ independence vanguard, a “Movement” 4 August , 1947, reset up and personally financed by mega- merchant George Alfred Grant (Paa Grant) to revive the ARPS [Aborigines Rights Protection Society]and swiftly inspired a spreading swell of the country’s fervour for total independence, a huge step beyond ARPS’ for internal self-government. [ARPS was founded 1897 at Cape Coast.] The second national political party was an obvious necessity, called the United Party [UP]. The word or adjective “United” signified the coming together of all the movements, associations and pseudo –nationalists, which had previously solo, or independently contested the CPP and lost in succession since the first national elections-1951 in the Gold Coast Colony.
The UP , anti-Nkrumah-Coalition, was announced, 3 Nov 1957 in Accra and understood per verbal MOU as led by a rotation triumvirate –Dr J.B.Danquah, Simon Diedong(e)Dombo and Dr K.A.Busia. Latterly, it would seem that the donning of the “The Danquah-Busia Tradition” to have been ethnic-foisted at the founding of Busia’s Progress Party [PP] that ruled coup-truncated on January 13, 1972, the Second Republic. But it bears a renamed NPP, the governing political party today. I should importantly explain “ethnic-foisted”: the general elections August 29, 1969 resulted an uneasy apprehension, interpretively, that the country had split into the Akan and Ewe—the PP’s landslide majority of 105 [largely Akan] seats and NAL’s 29 [pretty Ewe stock] Historically, it can be added but indeed that NAL [National Alliance of Liberals founded-led by K.A.Gbedemah formerly Nkrumah’s ‘’Number 2’’was the most effective opposition this country had had; running second was the ‘’paltry-8’’ in the first parliament of this Fourth Republic. In truth, we lost the real meaning of then Head of State of the then military [National Liberation Council–NLC], Lt. Gen. A.A. Afrifa’s address at the inauguration of the Second Republic, October 30, 1969. He simply appealed to all to ‘’accept’’ the outcome of earnest soonest opportune which we concur in but appear lost like ‘’Alice in Wonderland’’.
We can replace that self-driven opium-drunk- partisanship, rather than aggravate the chasm with whispers about rumours that some political party could be intending to allegedly campaign with a Sectarian card. We all know it is globally disastrous and let us all disown the rumours –may, or not be false and or mischievous political kite flying because it is dangerous for a country which has an enviable growing all-round ecumenism,
It is up to them and the EC, perhaps to rightly raise a disqualification warning which has been a dormant scare-crow constitutionally, read in depth—those clauses against discrimination within the ambits of the freedoms enshrined and particularly the validity of a vote. The Commission can do the first at a canter. The second shall imaginably have two courses: court petitions and the bothering about insults. I think people in that slot would have developed skins of rhinoceroses, combating not ruing abuse. It’s both in the cause public duty and the country would support the EC for a crusade such as the suggested or early clamp down, preferably being ahead of it, imposing a binding and gentle agreement with the political parties and independent contestants—a stitch in time.
Criss-country political lobs doubt these remain the precise ‘early days yet’ to be expectant. The directions nudge up Manifestoes or leaks. There is circulating the NDC or John Mahama’s own tit-bits—“24-Hour economy” and pledge to complete abandoned projects. There is lean flesh on; because of our primary experience; and that he would claw along similar developments to finitely end the syndrome for the sake of country. What intrigues curiosity and alignments of Analysts, Pundits et al, surrounds the future of the controversial Cathedral—who owns it and curtail mutual recriminations, irrespective of the results of the elections-2024. Our unison is that it is not going to be as incredibly complicated as 2020.
BY PROF. NANA ESSILFIE-CONDUAH
