Growing Ghana's democracy

It is barely 72 hours to the historic judgement on the famous election petition and Ghanaians are waiting with bated breath for that watershed judgement.

Generally, both the petitioners and the respondents have publicly declared their willingness to abide by the judgement, even though it is natural for parties in dispute to always have faith in their positions.

It is quite instructive that some supporters of the parties in the dispute have moved away from the rigid positions they held when the petition began, with some social commentators and media practitioners making inflammatory statements with regard to the petition.

Then the Supreme Court drew the final “touchline” which commentators, lawyers and journalists crossed at their own peril.

Some people, including lawyers, still hold views diametrically opposed to those of the learned judges but these people have no choice but to abide by the dictates of the Supreme Court.

The good thing is that there is a general outpouring of goodwill from the people in Ghana and abroad.

Perhaps, having gone through six successful elections, Ghanaians have become somehow complacent in the hope that as masters of democratic practice, nothing untoward will happen.

The Daily Graphic and some people have said that despite the pain that the country has gone through over the last eight months, there are useful lessons we have learnt that will guide us into the future.

We recall that immediately after the 2012 polls, the presidential candidate of the Progressive People’s Party (PPP), Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom, called for electoral reforms but he was vilified in certain quarters.

The problem with the political class in the country is that they tend to dismiss issues, depending on where those issues come from. Most often, we look at the messenger, instead of the message.

Going forward, the Daily Graphic thinks that as a nation, we should pick the useful lessons from the pink sheets story, with the view to reforming the electoral system, and dumping the ugly side of the petition hearing to advance our democratic governance.

In every society there are those who are optimistic, while the pessimists also have their reasons for their position.

The Daily Graphic believes that whatever happens in the judgement, Ghana will be the winner.

We think it is our democracy that will benefit from the entire exercise. It will also put us on the map of those who have respect for the rule of law and democratic principles.

The Daily Graphic does not dismiss the fact that the petitioners are in court for many reasons and we think both the petitioners and the respondents will have no choice but to respect the verdict.

Ghana will come out of the litigation in court a stronger country, with the hitherto entrenched positions being relegated to the background.

We think it is not for nothing that some personalities are already using various scenarios to bring all the political forces together.

Our Constitution is very explicit on how governance should be exercised, but if we need reforms to promote a better agenda for the country, we should not hesitate to adopt those reforms.

The Daily Graphic appeals to all Ghanaians to hold themselves in readiness for the verdict and join forces to celebrate the success of Ghana’s democracy.

We also urge the security forces to step up their vigilance to secure the state now and in the future.

Daily Graphic/Ghana