The hour of reckoning has finally burst forth upon us. On the 7th of December 2024, there will be high voltage of electricity in the very air we breathe, but the key word for voting day should be the five-letter word “peace.” Many Ghanaians are probably familiar with the strange
expression, “as long as peace and war.” One might consider the expression with some puzzlement, until one reflects on how war is not far from peace in an election year.
Here is our checklist for a transparent, credible and fair election of integrity: To begin with, the Electoral Commission will do well to avoid the late delivery or non-delivery altogether, of voting materials and equipment, the unnecessarily long queues at polling stations, the failure of election officers to show up at polling stations long after the scheduled starting time for voting and the problem of defective and malfunctioning equipment.
All citizens need to be reminded that election officers, the police and other security personnel and mandated party representatives apart, no one has any duty hanging around polling stations on Election Day. Voters should be advised by political parties to leave polling stations the moment they are done casting their votes.
Political parties have a responsibility to ensure that there is no undue aggression and disruptive behaviour by party supporters in the name of vigilance at polling stations, and the media must remember that it is only the Electoral Commissioner who is mandated by law to announce the results.
Hotspot mapping by the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding across the country’s 276 constituencies has identified 29 out of 276 constituencies as “exceedingly high risk” constituencies, 30 as “high risk” and 106 as “medium risk.” The closest watch needs to be kept on constituencies labelled as “exceedingly high risk.”
No alcoholic drinks should be sold anywhere near any polling station, no
menacing, muscle-bound human creatures on snarling motorbikes wearing
scowling countenances and party paraphernalia, looking for trouble such as snatching or trying to snatch ballot boxes and intimidating voters.
The police have warned that they will act with professional discipline during the elections and will not countenance any acts of violence or unlawful conduct on the part of any electorate.
Vigilance remains the slogan for the power-thirsty. Any complaints or protests by party representatives and other authorized individuals and groups are filed through the processes prescribed by law for the resolution of election disputes.
The police perform their duties with such professionalism and impartiality that, all across the political divide are left in no doubt about their political neutrality. Transparency is made the watch word in the entire election process and in this the nation has the advantage of the presence of election observers.
In addition to foreign election observers, several domestic observer-organizations are deploying thousands of observers across the country and they can testify to an election which is transparent, fair and of integrity. Their presence can deter fraud, expose any irregularities, reveal problems and provide an accurate measure of the quality of the election. These observers also strengthen civil society’s capacity in promoting democracy and official accountability. We therefore urge cooperation between the Electoral Commission, the security agencies and other stake holders in election process and the election observers
Lest we forget, radio messages and images can make all the difference between a peaceful election and a violent one because radio is instantaneous and massive reach across vast audiences puts radio streets ahead of print and television when it comes to information dissemination, news updates, emergency alerts and public warnings.
During previous elections, there was the bizarre case of prospective voters, most of them blue-collar workers, whose finger prints could not be registered biometrically even though the equipment was functioning perfectly. Sympathetic registration officials washed the hands of the unlucky prospective voters with soap but that did a fat lot of good when they tried taking the fingerprints again.
You will often find construction workers chiseling away metal, concrete, quarry stones and other hard surfaces with their bare hands. Some blue-collar workers handle chemicals without wearing gloves. The result of all
that: scarred fingers with no prints. The Electoral Commission may find a way of ensuring that such voters are not disenfranchised due to their mishap.
For the sake of future elections and in order to refine and advance our democracy, it is necessary to identify the reasons for the many disputed and violent elections in Ghana and other African countries.
To begin with, there is a high level of distrust among most political parties and voters in the transparency and neutrality of those responsible for election management bodies. According to Afrobarometer, the number of citizens in Africa with little or no confidence in their national electoral commission rose from 41% to a staggering 55% between 2011/13 to 2021/23.
“Ghana is among four countries where mistrust is deeply rooted in how election management bodies are constituted. Their appointment processes are often not consultative and largely exclude opposition parties and other stakeholders.
For example, the bodies in Ghana, Nigeria, Liberia and Zimbabwe have been accused of being dominated by ruling party loyalists”, the pan-African, non-partisan survey research network said.
Afrobarometer said polls in Africa are undermined by weak electoral processes. “Electoral management bodies’ inability to build consensus across the political divide on key aspects such as timelines, campaign restrictions and party funding raises suspicion and mistrust. This is worsened by incumbents’ control of these processes.”
In countries that have experienced electoral disputes such as Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, and Zimbabwe, concerns are often sparked by allegations of abuse of power by those in office and accusations of electoral commission’s bias against opposition parties. Mistrust is usually exacerbated by the ruling party’s influence over dispute resolution mechanisms or courts”, the survey network reported.
The network also cites Ghana among the countries with vigilante groups which contributes to electoral violence in the country. “The attraction of high political office makes presidential and legislative campaigns so fierce that they increase the threat of electoral violence. The rise of militant and armed vigilantes associated with political parties, such as in Ghana, has become a significant disruption to free and fair voting and the integrity of election outcomes”
We share the suggestion proposed by the survey group that in order to improve the quality of elections, governments need to ensure that election management bodies are truly independent of external control and manipulation. The suggestion is that this can be achieved by appointing competent people through consultative processes, ensuring their security of tenure, and providing them with adequate resources needed to function.
The survey network also lists one of the causes of violent elections as the use of misinformation and disinformation in campaigning compounded further by fake news and links to artificial intelligence.
The problem of misinformation and disinformation during elections will not go away on its own. Some internet platforms are taking steps to curb the phenomenon, but no method introduced yet has been completely successful at removing misinformation and disinformation from electoral communication. It is said that the best defense against misinformation is self-defense. By taking strong measures that are proactive against misleading information and promoting transparency, timely information and overall integrity of electoral processes, all elections can be safeguarded against misinformation and its close cousin in the art of deception.
