We need to look seriously at electoral concerns – Prof Dovlo

Reverend Professor Elorm Dovlo, a Historian of Religion at the University of Ghana, has said it is important for the nation to take a sober reflection of the disturbing trend of vote rigging allegations and its attendant threats of violence and mayhem during the climax of each political season.

He said in the sixth election of the Fourth Republican Constitution, the continuous allegations of vote rigging and falsification of results by political opponents is creating an unhealthy political tension.

Professor Dovlo said this when the GNA called on him to discuss the noticeable upsurge in calls for prayers and peace during election seasons.

He said as the success of subsequent elections is predicated on the outcome of the previous election, politicians of both divide in Ghana often overreach themselves in explaining to their followers the reasons for the stated results.

Professor Dovlo said such concerns could be handled by the provisions in the Constitution and the competent authorities mandated to ensure the peaceful and satisfactory settlement of all electoral concerns.

He said the absence of decorum in political discourse had often created a tense atmosphere in the society before elections take place.

Professor Dovlo said the increasing tempo in the call for prayer and peace by religious leaders and people from all walks of life shows unease in the society, and therefore there was the need for sober reflection on ways to reduce the high political tension.

He said we needed to look at them quickly to help dispel the notion that the quest for political expression could lead the nation to violence and anarchy.

Professor Dovlo said a similar kind of fear and tension existed in the military regimes prior to the Fourth Republican Constitution, where governmental change was unpredictable and often placed the entire nation in fear.

He said in the current dispensation, the tense atmosphere was characterised by acerbic post-election rhetoric and this often continued till the next elections were due, and then the threats of pre-election violence began to emerge, continuing with the threat of post- election violence.

This, Professor Dovlo said, was an unhealthy trend for the nation and that as we entered the new year, it was important to reflect on these concerns, be candid and truthful in all our affairs, and to ensure that each election did not portend violence and anarchy but peace and stability for the development of the nation.