President Nana Akufo Addo in a virtual conference at the Annual
Conference of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) on Monday 14th
September 2020 in Accra stated that, events from 1993 to today
indicate our commitment to a free, fair and transparent elections.
However, the conduct of the President since he assumed the reigns
of government in 2017 depicts the President’s lack of commitment
in maintaining the status quo and ensuring free, fair, transparent
and violent free election in December 2020. In other words, what
President does is at variance with what he says.
So far many developments in Ghana relative to elections and the
Electoral Commission point to but one conclusion – a systematic
plan to compromise free, fair and credible elections.
For instance, the removal of Mrs. Charlotte Osei, former Chairperson
of Ghana’s Electoral Commission (EC) and replacing her with
persons considered to be bias in favor of the President and his party
the New Patriotic Party (NPP) as reported in the Executive Summary
of the Ghana 2019 Human Right Report by the United States Bureau
of Democracy raises serious concerns.
Many including the 2019 Human Right Report on Ghana believe that,
the replacement of Mrs. Charlotte Osei with Mrs. Jean Mensa as EC
Chairperson was to manipulate the entire electoral system and
processes in favor of the President and his Party, the NPP.
Secondly, the handling of the Ayawaso West Wagon by-elections
violence exposes the President’s disinterest in a violent free
electoral process. Not only did the President fail to implement the
Emile Short Commissions’ report, but went ahead to absolve all
government appointees indicted in that report.
One would have commended the President for promulgating the
Vigilantism and Related Offences Act, 2019 (Act 999) however,
evidence from the Emile Short Commission clearly showed that
many of these Vigilantes belonging to the ruling NPP were already
integrated into the regular State Security Agencies and a repeat of
Ayawaso West Wagon may be inevitable. We are reliably informed of the secrete recruitment and training of more of these NPP vigilantes for elections day deployment.
We are of the view that, the recruitment of these NPP vigilantes
into our security services is an attempt to institutionalize
violence in the upcoming elections. It is also alleged that, the
National Communication Authority (NCA) is planning to shut
down the Communications Networks on elections day, however,
neither government or NCA have come to confirm or deny this
allegations.
Furthermore, the State sponsored invasion of Volta Region in
defiance of prostrations from the Chiefs and people of that
Region and the naked intimidation of residents by State security
during the just ended voter registration exercise betrays the
Present’s lack of commitment to a free fair and transparent
electoral system.
In deed the whole world saw how attempts were made by State
Security to physical prevent residents in many parts of the Volta
Region from participation in the registration process. Whilst this
act attracted wide condemnation and outrage, the President as
the Commander-In-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces variously
defended the act.
The fallout in the Volta Region during the voter registration
exercise lend credence to the claim by the Human Right Report
that, the ousting of Mrs. Charlotte Osei was to pave way for the
suppression of votes from the opposition strong holds among
others.
Actions they say speak louder than words and so far the
President by all intent and purposes and by all his actions
and his endorsement of the actions of certain relevant States
Agencies regarding the electoral process during his reign are
inconsistent with the assurance he purportedly gave during
his address to the GBA.
President Akufo Addo’s actions so far have imposed on
Ghanaians the belief that, he may want to maintain power at
all cost hence our call on all concerned individuals,
institutions and especially the International Community to
focus their lenses on Ghana’s elections.
David Kumi Addo
Executive Secretary “CARE” GHANA
