By Adofo Rockson

Do We Commend the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Mrs Charlotte Osei, For Conducting a Free, Fair and Peaceful Election 2016?

Sorry for this belated expression of my views on whether or not Mrs Charlotte Osei, the Chairperson of Ghana’s Electoral Commission, did conduct a free, fair and peaceful Election 2016 hence needing both national and international commendations for a job well done. I understand His Excellency the President, has publicly given her thumbs up for doing a great job to ensuring that the election was free, fair and peaceful.


I beg to differ from all those singing the praises of Mrs Charlotte Osei for having organised an election that was free, fair and peaceful. Yes, the election could be said to have been conducted in a peaceful atmosphere devoid of the wrangling previous elections had been associated with but giving credit to Charlotte is what I vehemently disagree with.


Charlotte was such a diabolic person with publicly demonstrated intents to rig the election in favour of the NDC and then President-cum-presidential candidate John Dramani Mahama, alias Ede bii keke and Yen ntie Obiaa. Every action of hers, warning the media not to announce any results from the polling stations, the constituency and regional collation centres but those from her outfit only, and arranging the special voting to deny some people their voting rights and many others tell volumes about her.


She was so stubborn to have her dubious way in everything without any regard for anyone except the NDC party and NDC stalwarts and the father of NDC, President John Mahama. They were always in total agreement with all the evil machinations she had in place of which she was shamelessly exhibiting in public.


How can such a person be credited with conducting peaceful, fair and free election 2016? It was just that God wanted a change to happen and certain mechanisms were put in place to thwart her evil plots with the NDC that were 1,000% sure to win the election hence their onaapo song with then NDC presidential-candidate John Dramani Mahama doing the Usain Bolt whenever he mounted political platforms during the campaign declaring with absolute confidence that he was going to win the election one touch with 52% of the ballots cast.


As man proposes, God disposes. As Charlotte Osei was scheming with the NDC to continue to inflict economic hardships on the majority of Ghanaians except the few corrupt NDC faithful, God was up there watching her and probably laughing at her saying, poor soul, you will receive the shock of your life come the end of the day of election, Wednesday, 7 December 2016.


Lest I forget, was Charlotte Osei not initially in agreement with the NDC government not to give teachers and students holiday on that particular day to proceed to their various polling stations throughout the country to cast their votes? Yes, she was! What a diabolic woman she was and she still is.


Can such a woman be given the credit as having conducted a free, fair and peaceful election? No!!! The conditions were so overwhelming that there was nothing she could do. If she was such a woman of integrity who merits commendation, my simple question to everyone is, why did the NPP declare the results within nine hours of the closing of the polls in the wee hours of Thursday, 8 March 2016 but not the Electoral Commission? I end my case.


I, personally, have no respect for her as a woman of integrity worthy of her post because she is diabolic and corrupt concluding from her actions made vividly known in the months and days preceding the election which even culminated in some people taking her to the Supreme Court.


As opinions are like noses with each person having one, those who want to praise her are at liberty to do so but not with me! I just pray that she never took any bribe from the NDC government to behave so obstinately and maliciously as she did.


Does she now realise that obstinacy is the cause of the horns of the hornbill? Let us hear her chirp again and loudly as she used to do thinking she was a law unto herself and could make or break Ghana. As I love to say, time changes, so Charlotte Osei take note of that in order not to repeat your past mistakes.


Anyway, she is not in my good books but who cares?


Rockson Adofo

(Written on Saturday, 11 March 2017)