Electoral violence coverage is upsetting and twisting ordinary citizens’ spines. Although politico-election violence in Ghana hasn’t learned much about, Angoula 1992, Ethiopia 2005, 2017/2018, Côte d’Ivoire 2010 elections, Burundi, Sierra Leone, among other African countries are examples that the barrels or boundary of a pairing is not at the whim of women, girls, the disabled or any other individual. People are scared for their survival without any hesitation. However, come to think of it, I would not unleash the abuse, but what if the actions of anybody bring us to this incredible point in our national electoral, political and social history?
Technology seems to have been a wonderful weapon used in all facets of the country’s lives by people, both public and privately held entities. To this end, the Electoral Commission was less discontented with the need to digitise electoral processes in Ghana. Ghana has already experienced five effective election cycles between 1992 and 2008 when the manual method was commonly used in electoral processes.
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In 2012, as the Commission introduced the technology in the election process, the term ‘No Verification, No Vote’ ended a muddle of emotions and also an electoral mechanism assisted by technology ended at the Court for eight months, including complaints against the EC and the triumphal party, with regard to the problems of fraud and electoral violence.
Western nations have been utilising and implementing sophisticated technologies in their political systems for more than decades. Although most of the western nations, including the USA, Germany and others, are threats to international infiltration of their technologically oriented political structures, the question is how to secure free and equal elections and how to maintain accountability.
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According to an analysis by Pew Research Center, the possibility of Russia and other international infiltration in the 2020 elections has been revealed by 75 per cent of Americans participating in the report. This moves on from the US political invasion by Russia in 2016. So far, Americans have been scared by their run-up to the November 7, 2020, election. So, if the usage of these innovations is extremely cautious in western countries, what will third-party consumers anticipate in Ghana?
Over the past few days, Ghanaian media were prompted by reports that names of some electoral districts were immediately removed and duplicated and other anomalies linked to the presentation of the voting registry recorded on technical grounds were shown. These removed names exist in certain political groups rather than others, as news reports them.
That means that the exclusion could be a concerted effort to support a certain political party(s) over the other party(s). Knowledge as such triggers concern owing to several related incidents in certain African countries. What would we anticipate before and during the main elections if these arise right before the main election?
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However, who will be liable for compulsory elimination from the registry of voters of thousands of addresses, duplications of addresses and repetition of ID numbers while operating with emerging technologies? Is it the Electoral Commission or the Electoral Commission’s technology?
Whatever the blame might be, in the calculation, an Electoral Commission has been given the right by people to “to conduct and supervise all public elections and referenda” under the terms of Articles 45(c) of Ghana’s constitution of 1992. In this case, the Electoral Committee could not skip becoming the first respondent in the Ghana election petition of 2012, as it told us. If the country’s electoral procedures are not peculiar.
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However, every person is responsible for maintaining the peace of this world. “… bold to protect the cause of liberty and right forever,” as the national anthem specifically states .. The Electoral Commission must, with careful regard to the word ‘right,’ ensure that everything is correct to preserve citizens’ basic human rights which could be threatened in the case of electoral malpractice or anomaly.
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Since all political parties conclude “We won’t endorse the outcome of a failed referendum,” the Electoral Commission is called upon to take every practicable move to ensure the safeguarding of the peace of this nation by ensuring a free, equal, and effective process, including all proceedings before, after or after elections.
On that basis, the Commission is firmly urged to ensure that technical means should not be automatically incorporated in the democratic framework by the 2020 elections. In the same way, the EC wants to ensure that technology is not over-reliant, in particular, because it is very much interested in this very election. If something, Ghana, Africa and the world’s democratic experience have shown us the severe implications of democratic conservatism.
Apart from utilising technical tools at this referendum, however, manual safeguards should be given at each electoral period from the outset of the polling, the polling and the results announced.
Instead of presenting answers to the irregularities found by the parties concerned, the Electoral Commission should also deal with the problems posed by all the parties interested in this election in the same way. Organizing gatherings to clarify issues can not actually address the concerns found until pragmatic measures are done to fix concerns on the ground and activities that may disturb the stability of this nation do not simply rhetorically act.
The EC must be conscious that not the Committee, but only Ghanaians, organises the 2020 election and that, like all Ghanaians, the EC is just an electoral player. In this regard, because of the 2020 general elections, Ghanaians must not disturb the peace which we cherish as a country, or shared respect as Ghanaians.
At the end of the 2020 polls, Ghana does not call out for reconciliation. The stability of this nation must be safeguarded, however all of its participants, including the Electoral Commission, all political parties concerned, experts, unbiased and durable, the responsible monitoring media, religious councillors, the educated organisations of the civil society, peace-loving people and all the state institutions, must work together.
Data Source: modernghana