Election-related violence must end

As has been noted and to paraphrase Dr Martin Luther King Jnr, if it had been said about any other country I would not have been bothered but somehow in the Ghana Constitution, I see written boldly something about guarantees of freedom, justice and equality before the law.

That is why it is imperative for all of us to ensure that violence perpetrated by bigots, bestial acts, the resort to impunity and attempts to intimidate others not to exercise their inalienable rights or privileges to cast a vote for selection, election, appointment or endorsement for any position freely, must not only be condemned but punished according to law.

It is in that context that I write to draw the attention of all to the necessity to fight such acts and more important ensure that such deviants and criminals are not glorified or encouraged by acquiescence or complicity when such dysfunctional developments occur.

It was the renowned Ghanaian global evangelist Rev. Dr Lawrence Tetteh who devoted time, resources and attention to organise a religious crusade which he titled " the nonsense must stop" to draw attention to many of the unreasonable things we do as Ghanaians against each other and still claim to be a Christian nation.

I want to add that the madness of election-related violence must stop and end.

As a people, we must consciously develop sustainable strategies and tactics to nip in the bud, the idiocy of believing that it is only our choices that must prevail, whether informed or otherwise.

When violence erupts after a general election, the spurious arguments are that those who engage in those dastardly acts are protecting democracy to ensure that the gains of their parties are not eroded or surrendered.

Therefore, instead of reproach, they are usually commended and held in esteem with bountiful rewards.

The result is that as a society, we live by contradictions, we proudly insist on our inalienable right to choose our leaders yet we stop at nothing to prevent the choices freely made to be sustained. 

Unlawful means

We use unlawful means to validate what we cherish as our democratic rights.

That is how a judge of a superior court of judicature could boldly make a pronouncement of committing a suspect into remand in prison custody to protect his freedoms. 

How can any person with pretence to democratic credentials ever justify the use of violence, criminality and impunity to defend democracy?  

We seem to adore those who exhibit violence and praise them as strong and brave. Thus, over the years, we have brewed miscreants who persist in their deviant and bestial behaviours as land guards.

They even exist in settings such as chieftaincy, where although inheritance is a private affair for only the members of the royal families, the miscreants in the name of youth, engage in all manner of unlawful acts to ensure that only their preferred individuals ascend the stools or skins.

The abuse is widespread in the arena of partisan politics, whether at a general election or intra-party elections.
 

The violence which concomitantly enmeshes and demeans the peaceful, free, open and orderly conduct of our general election, particularly the December 2024 election, has not attracted any punishment.

To date, we have not heard about the prosecution of some of the vagabonds arrested by the police for the vandalisation and besieging of public property, offices and residential accommodation.

Indeed, I have not heard anything about justice for the three hapless Catholic priests who were dehumanised and scandalised by some activists of the National Democratic Congress in the false and spurious name of protecting national property in the Nkwanta area of the Oti Region.

That is why the recent posture of the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the NDC that those who disrupted the election of the Ashanti Region representative of the Council of State were supporters of the New Patriotic Party must be condemned.

Such comments encourage the conscienceless individuals to continue their criminal acts of gangsterism, knowing that in the thick of things, they would have their godfathers to defend them.

My angst against the Ashanti Regional NDC chairman is founded on a comment made by a notable legal luminary, Mr Nutifafa Kuenyehia.

When Mr Kyenyehia was the Chairman of the National Media Commission, I served as the Executive Secretary.

At one engagement about suspects arrested and detained by the police for snatching ballot boxes in the Akwatia Constituency in the 2008 elections,  he told me,  " Yaw, if you want to know which party the criminals belong to, wait until the declaration of the results to see whether they would be prosecuted or otherwise. Where they belong to the ruling party, nothing will happen.

If they are prosecuted, then they are from the wrong party, the one which lost." Indeed, when Prof. Mills was sworn in as President, the suspects were released unconditionally.

We may also recollect how some NPP activists in 2017 virtually captured the Ashanti Region security coordinator, dragged him from office and treated him inhumanely.

Although some of the miscreants were arraigned, we saw the charade that went on in open court when the accused escaped.

After their rearrest, many Ghanaians felt the fines imposed as their conviction belittled the enormousness of their crime and the need to set an example, to serve as a deterrent.

I have gone to these lengths to emphasise the necessity for the misconduct or madness to be nipped in the bud now because very soon, we will be going into the appointment and confirmation of metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives.

That has been one activity beset with widespread and diffused violent acts, where neither the NDC nor the NPP can claim to be different.

The impunity and violence usually begin when the President names the appointees.

The concomitant could be destruction of party property or national assets, assault on individuals or disruption of assembly processes.

Where the party activists support the nominee and the candidate is rejected by the assembly, it becomes a free-for-all fight but no one has ever got arrested much less prosecution and conviction.

At such times, the identity of the hoodlums becomes no secret yet no one gets arrested to face prosecution to serve as a deterrent.

doomsday prophet

I am not a doomsday prophet, but I can predict with certainty that we will be witnessing another round of violent impunity if we do not prepare for the development.

The police must get their act together such that when it does happen, it does not become a surprise.

There is gossip going around about some of the NDC regional executives, particularly the chairmen, having their preferred candidates, for whatever reasons, noble or ignoble and are determined to ensure that these become the candidates.

Whilst my advice to the assembly members is that it is only established NDC activists who will become chief executives, if the candidate is qualified and of high moral integrity, they should endorse them but if they are not qualified or are of moral turpitude, then they should reject them.

To those party supporters who think about themselves and employ violence to disrupt processes, my appeal is that they should give the President the freedom to appoint and allow the assembly members to exercise their right to endorse or reject nominees to give meaning to democracy, the rule of law and due process.

If any party hoodlum tries to employ violence against the process of the appointment and endorsement of candidates as prescribed by law, the full measure of the law must be applied.

We cannot continue to boast about our democratic credentials whilst encouraging the use of violence, intimidation, and bigotry to resolve matters that require the rule of law and due process.