GRADUALLY but steadily, we are inching towards the D-day for the December 7 elections. And as we gear up for the polls, tension and anxiety, understandably, have heightened among the electorate.
Interestingly, all the political parties and other individuals in the race are upbeat about victory at the polls. Even the obvious underdogs believe they will win the elections.
All over the world, the electorate are always passionate about electoral contests and in societies where the contests have not been managed properly, the outcomes have led to violence and humanitarian crises.
Ghana nearly fell into that trap following inflammatory remarks by a section of politicians and the media. Fortunately, our religious and traditional leaders and other public-spirited personalities prevailed on the politicians and the media to safeguard the peace and stability of the country.
The Electoral Commission (EC) and the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) have spared no efforts to educate the people about their civic responsibilities, as far as the December polls are concerned. These two bodies were compelled to do so because of the near confusion that characterised the limited registration exercise during which many minors registered.
The DAILY GRAPHIC reminds Ghanaians, particularly parents, not to allow their children to be deceived into getting involved in electoral malpractices. Leaders of the political parties will themselves not engage in electoral malpractices or encourage their children to do so.
It is against this background that we urge the electorate to heed the call by the Metropolitan Archbishop of Accra, the Most Rev Charles Gabriel Palmer-Buckle, on all Ghanaians to resolve not to allow anyone to mislead them into conflict, before, during or after Sunday’s general election.
Ghana’s forthright and great man of God says it is wrong for anyone to compare what happened in Kenya and Zimbabwe to what would happen in Ghana after Sunday’s elections, saying that “we shall not take guns and we should not allow anyone to lead us into conflict after the polls.”
It is unfortunate that certain politicians have made it a habit to cry wolf on the least suspicion and threaten mayhem if things are not done right or do not go according to their plans.
What is more worrying is that despite repeated assurances from the EC that it will be difficult to rig the polls, the doomsday prophets think otherwise and continue to predict violence on Election Day.
It is important to remind those who still doubt the credibility of the EC that the processes for the conduct of elections and the release of the results are quite different from those of most African countries, including Kenya and Zimbabwe. The transparent nature of Ghana’s electoral system was manifest in the way the results in the Pru Constituency were overturned in 2004 even after some hoodlums had burnt down some ballot boxes.
We encourage the political parties that will raise the red flag after the polls to proceed to the courts instead of taking to arms or resorting to violence.
In our collective efforts to conduct the best polls on the continent, the Judiciary has launched a manual on election dispute adjudication and set in motion the processes for the early adjudication of election-related disputes.
The DAILY GRAPHIC reminds the violent characters or the hawks in all political parties that the adoption of self-help to seek redress, instead of relying on the law courts, can only send us back into the state of nature, where violence and confusion reign and the fittest survive.
The last four elections established Ghana as the model of democracy. December 7 will neither be a day for war nor conflict. Ghanaians are a peace-loving people. Election 2008 will be highly competitive and historic but equally free and fair and the outcome will be accepted by all contestants.
