LET’S STOP THE ROMANTICIZATION OF STATE INSTITUTIONS ON THE ALTAR OF RESPECTING THEIR SO CALLED INDEPENDENCE (THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION IN PERSPECTIVE)

IDDI MUHAYU-DEEN’S FOLDER

There is no denying the fact that the success of a democratic nation, to a large extent, is contingent on the availability of strong and efficacious State Institutions that command respect from her citizenry. Indeed, President Barrack Obama was completely spot on with his profound admonition to the citizens of African countries and Ghana in particular, to focus on building strong institutions rather than strong men in such institutions in order to consolidate our democratic gains and chart a path of growth and posterity. Our very constitution also enjoins us to respect these Institutions of State. But of course, in doing so, it is equally very instructive to note that the same constitution reposes responsibilities in these institutions.

They are supposed to discharge their responsibilities in accordance with law and not behave like the proverbial octopus as if they are a law onto themselves. They are thus, supposed to be accountable to you and I, in whose supreme interest and authority, they exist. The difficulty for most of us however, has been where to draw the line between holding these State Institutions accountable and also respecting their independence. A lot of people especially political zealots tend to mischievously construe the latter as an ABSOLUTE whilst seeing the former as an ATTACK on these institutions and thus, making same problematic and unconstitutional.

This development, I find, rather disingenuous and counterproductive to our democratic experiment. The most nauseating part of this narrative is the manifest HYPOCRISY of our politicians especially the elite, who ought to know better. But of course, these politicians would always justify everything including calling black, white and the vice versa if it came from their own BUT see everything wrong with the actions or utterances of their political opponents. It is even more worrying to note that the so called “nonpoliticians” are as guilty as the politicians in this ugly enterprise, making same a national canker. That is the bane of this country and until we embrace a new paradigm for love of God and country, we shall all continue to wallow in this abyss.

For the purpose of this write-up, I wish to zero in on our Electoral Commission, which is undoubtedly, one of the State Institutions that has lately been in the news for various acts of omissions and commissions. You would recall how the EC threw caution to the wind in their belligerent insistence to proceed with the organization of the district assembly elections in 2015 without regard to the necessary legal regime until a fisherman went to court to stop them. This resulted in a huge financial loss to the Ghanaian taxpayer (over ¢300 million). The EC is not independent nor sacrosanct after all. A lot of us thought that the appointment of a new EC Boss, Madam Charlotte Osei was going to restore confidence in the commission and better its lot but rather regrettably, the reverse happens to be the case.

Again, the recent brouhaha that characterized the call for the compilation of a "new" credible voters register for the 2016 general elections and the handling of same exposes the incompetence and foolhardiness of the EC under Charlotte Osei. It would be recalled that when some leading political parties including the NPP, CPP, NDP et al made a strong case for the compilation of a new credible register, the EC set up a five - member Panel to, inter alia, organize a forum with the view to collating views from all stakeholders in order to advise the commission on the way forward in relation to the new register debate. Surprisingly, even before the committee could finish their work, Charlotte Osei appeared before them (at the forum) and stated quite succinctly that, the EC wasn't ready to compile a new register because it wasn't feasible and proceeded to add that, the EC was not under any obligation to accept the Panel's recommendations anyway.

By this, she was essentially preempting the committee's work and telling the whole world that the exercise was a useless venture because they (the EC) had already concluded on what to do and nothing could change their mind. So, if the EC knew this, why did they waste our time and resources in appointing the Panel and in the organization of the forum? It is not surprising that the EC never worked with the recommendations of the eminent Panel despite the huge money pumped into their work. If this is not a classic case of causing financial loss to the State, I wonder what else it is. Again, tell me the EC didn’t lie to the Supreme Court with the claim that our voters register had only 56,722 NHIS registrants out of the over 11 million voter population and I will call you a very dishonest person.

Also, at the heat of the uncertainty regarding the voters register, the leadership of the EC surprisingly, rather chose to concern themselves with an obsession to get a NEW LOGO for the Electoral Commission as if that was the panacea to our electoral woes. Mind you, aside the fact that the new logo comes at a huge cost to the poor taxpayer, the logo, which has justifiably incurred the wrath of journalists and all well-meaning Ghanaians, doesn't bear any of our national emblems; not even our famous Coat of Arm. There were also claims that it was a plagiarized symbol of a certain University in Turkey. How shameful! Well, this is exactly what happens when we over pamper our State Institutions in the name of respecting their so called independence.

In the nutshell, the Electoral Commission of Ghana, under the leadership of Madam Charlotte Osei has metamorphosed from an Election Governing Body to become not only a belligerent and stubborn State Institution, but also a money making institution or business entity. First, it went through rebranding, then the design of a new logo, then benchmarking and then development of a medium to long-term strategic plan. Now, we are talking about some outrageous fees being charged by the Commission as Filing Fees for our prospective Parliamentary and Presidential Candidates. This is in clear contravention of Article 94 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana; which EXCLUDES monetary consideration as a qualification criterion for aspiring candidates in our general elections.

For instance, whilst the Filing Fees for the 2016 presidential candidates shot up by some 500% (ie. from Gh¢10,000.00 to Gh¢50,000.00) from the 2012 figure, that of the parliamentary candidates has miraculously been increased by a whopping 1000% (ie. from Gh¢1,000.00 to Gh¢10,000.00). How do they expect a fresh graduate like me, to raise this kind of money? And why should that prevent me from aspiring to serve my constituents in Kete-Krachi as their MP when the constitution clearly permits me? Is the EC rewriting the constitution of Ghana? Must someone go to court again to compel the EC to work with commonsense under the circumstances?

Meanwhile, the entire budget and activities of the Commission are still funded by the Ghanaian taxpayer as well as donors. So what at all is the EC going to use these monies (IGF or whatever) for? No wonder their PRO, himself, couldn’t answer this question when it was posed to him by a journalist (Richard Sky of citi fm) and said he would have to ask the EC’s Accounts Department and revert. Enough is enough! The romanticization of these State Institutions especially the EC must STOP. Let’s all rise up and demand accountability from them NOW for the love of God and country. And our action should not misconstrued by friends of the governing party in particular, to mean interference in the Commission’s work.

#Mutashi

Assalamu alaikum

This piece was compiled by a concerned Ghanaian in the business of OCCUPYING HEARTS and MINDS for the love of God and country.

IDDI MUHAYU-DEEN

Youth Activist/Social Commentator

Former NUGS Secretary
(0245335197)

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