AS the nation inches to December 7, when Ghanaians will elect the successor to President J. A. Kufuor, as well as 230 Members of Parliament (MPs), the atmosphere continues to be poisoned day in and day out by the same people who are seeking the mandate to govern.
It is, indeed, unfortunate that some have referred to the sad events in Kenya and Zimbabwe as possible repercussions in our dear country, should the election results not favour their political parties.
The tension is further aggravated by the constant claim by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) that the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) is planning to rig the upcoming elections.
Sadly enough, some social commentators are feeding fat on this propaganda and have frequently made reference to the elections as a period when Ghana would experience an Armageddon. Reports indicate that the hate propaganda by these personalities has created panic in a section of the global society, particularly the international community.
However, the DAILY GRAPHIC would like to re-echo the words of Dr Sam Amoo, the National Security Co-ordinator, that “the December 7 polls would lead to a consolidation of our democratic governance and serve as a model for the rest of the countries in the sub-region, some of whom had experienced violence and even civil wars”.
Indeed, we urge all Ghanaians not to see the elections as a war but just a regular contest for the leadership of the country and have absolute faith that they will be conducted in a peaceful manner.
In 1992, after about 11 years of military dictatorship, elections were held, despite protestations from many of the political parties which thought that the then military government, which had transformed itself into a political party, was both a referee and a player and, therefore, they did not find the electoral process transparent enough.
Some of parties that contested the presidential election claimed the poll was rigged, leading to the boycott of the subsequent parliamentary election. Supporters of those aggrieved parties threatened to take to the streets but their leadership impressed upon them not to do so. What one party could do was to write ‘THE STOLEN VERDICT’.
Since then, there have been major reforms in the electoral process. We used to have opaque ballot boxes; they were changed for transparent ones. We did not have photo ID cards for voters throughout the country; but now, all that is history as every registered voter has a photo ID card. Another feather in our cap is that voting is done in the open and ballots are counted at polling stations and the results so declared are certified by the various party agents.
The threat of violence and Armageddon awaiting us on December 7 is, therefore, uncalled-for and can only be the chorus from prophets of doom. Anybody who is contesting for power in this year’s elections and has been able to convince the electorate about his programmes and messages should be confident that he or she will get the endorsement of the people, come December 7. There is, therefore, no need for violence or for people to shout wolf when what we all can see are pets.
As a nation, we have the collective responsibility to assure the international community that the accolades given to us as a hospitable people and an oasis of peace in a volatile sub-region are no fluke and that, truly, we deserve the recognition.
Ghana is our only heritage and we cannot trade it for personal gain. Let us put the prophets of doom to shame on December 7.
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