The Greek philosopher and a founding father of western philosophy, Plato, said “One of the penalties of refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.”
It is on the basis of that the Ghanaian Times wishes to add its voice to the need for massive participation in the political activities in the country.
We are particularly concerned with the electoral processes of registering citizens, to enable them to cast their votes in an atmosphere of peace and security.
This, we believe will engender a very strong political culture in the country toward deepening democratic governance and political accountability.
It is, refreshing, that the Electoral Commission (EC) has taken a swift action to abide by the decision of the Supreme Court (SC), after it ruled that the EC should go ahead to conduct a limited voters’ registration.
The EC had suffered a jolt, after a suit was brought against it in the apex court of the land, restraining it from carrying out the limited voters’ registration, initially planned to commence from June 7 to June 27, this year.
The country’s electoral governing body occasionally conducts limited voters’ registration to update the voters’ register, by affording citizens who turn 18 years and above, after the previous election, and those who could not register, the opportunity to register and cast ballot in elections.
The Ghanaian Times wishes to encourage citizens, who have attained the voting age of 18 years to take advantage of the limited voters’ registration exercise expected to be conducted at the various offices of the EC nationwide, starting from today, June 17 to July 27, by putting their names on the voters’ register, to enable them to exercise their franchise in elections.
Indeed, we expect prospective electorate to play by the rules and regulations of the game, by providing all the documentations required by the EC that qualifies one to register and vote, to ensure peaceful exercise at the limited registration centres.
As we have alluded to the advice of Plato in the beginning of our editorial comment, we hasten to add that it is only through voting as qualified citizens that we can elect the people that we believe can champion our aspirations, to improve upon our lives. Failure of which we have no one to blame!
We often hear from some communities, threats of not voting if politicians did not honour their promises made in previous electioneering.
It is our humble submission that the best threat to politicians is to massively participate in elections to determine their political fate, by either voting for performing candidates or rejecting the non-performing ones.
The EC should make all the logistics needed for the limited voters’ registration to its officials, and cooperate with the security agencies, to ensure a peaceful exercise.
We humbly reiterate the call for the EC to sustain dialogue with the political parties, to bring their views, concerns and suggestions on board in the electoral processes, toward a credible and peaceful General Election next year.
