Why The Flop In The Local Government Elections?

The New Patriotic Party is disturbed by the many failures that have bedevilled the ongoing district assembly elections. Right from the outset, there have been uncertainties, postponements and such poor organisation of the exercise that many voters have been left confused.

As of today, the Wednesday, 29 December 2010, many electoral areas still do not know when they will hold their assembly elections. For those that are voting, there have been widespread reports of serious errors on ballot papers and in voter registers, late arrival of election material, and generally poor conduct of the election that many eligible voters will be put off or disenfranchised.

Never in the history of local government elections has the exercise been so beset by such widespread uncertainties and failures. And yet, the public is not getting any clear explanations for these failures. The public deserves clear and honest explanations for why the district assembly elections have become such a flop.

The next presidential and parliamentary elections are less than two years away. Unless the causes of these unfortunate developments are addressed, there is little assurance that the 2012 elections will be freely, fairly and properly conducted. And the dangers thereof are obvious.

The NDC government ought to appreciate that the mandate of the Electoral Commission is so critical to the constitutional rule Ghana has adopted. For that matter, the EC deserves all the support and resources it takes to conduct all national elections properly and on schedule. There can never be any excuse for inadequate resources and support to the Electoral Commission in the conduct of elections. Resources to the EC should be high up on the priority scale.

We take note of the fact that the strange circumstances of the so called 40,000 task force deployed by government to (as we were told) protect the exercise have still not been explained.

The NPP is cautioning that if it is the intention of the NDC government to frustrate the EC so that they (the NDC) could reap diabolical electoral advantage from the resulting lapses, then they should abandon that idea. Ghana’s democracy has come a long way, and Ghanaians are determined to defend it fearlessly.

If the Mills-Mahama government wants Ghanaians to renew their mandate in 2012, they should stop the corruption, step up their performance and arrest the worsening conditions of living of Ghanaians. Any attempt to get a renewed mandate through the back door will be fiercely resisted.

Signed Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie General SecretarY