Feature Article : "The views expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of Modernghana.com."

Just over three weeks from the date of this publication, on December 7, 2008, Ghanaians will go to the polls to elect a new President and a new Parliament.

Many Ghanaians are apprehensive that the forthcoming elections will not be violence-free.

Following the successful election in the United States of America, which, for the first time, saw the election of the first African-American to the highest office of the President of the United States of America, the eyes of the world will be firmly turned and focused on the elections in this country; whether our own elections will follow the American example or go the way many elections in Africa have gone in recent months.

The outcome of the elections on December 7 will depend on several factors, some of which I shall discuss in this article.

While our recent experiences with the registration of the new voters by the Electoral Commission (EC), have been an issue of the bloated registers in certain areas of the country and the political warfare between the two major political parties (the NDC and the NPP) give cause for concern; we can draw some consolation from our ability in organising three successful elections in the past, although these elections were not entirely violence-free.

It is, therefore, possible for us to pull off a successful election on December 7, although a certain degree of localised violence is always likely to take place. It is important, however, that any ugly scenes that may crop up are quickly dealt with and contained without allowing them to get out of hand.

To achieve a successful, violence-free election, a great deal of work has to be done by all stakeholders, namely, the EC, all the political parties and the general voting population.

As far as the political parties are concerned, our new political leadership must bear in mind that Ghana is not for sale to the highest bidder.

The practice of our politicians going round the country to pay monies to prospective voters in order to influence them to vote in a particular direction must stop.

One reason why we have so much violence in African politics is that our politicians see politics as a route to making money.

Once they attain political power, they use their power and influence, not to the benefit of the electorate, but rather to amass wealth to the disadvantage of the broad masses of the people.

Using money to influence votes is totally unacceptable, but even more revolting is the attempt by some politicians to influence electoral officials to be biased in their favour in the conduct of elections.

It is actions such as these by political parties against their opponents that provoke violent reaction from those who feel cheated.

The way electoral disputes are handled by the courts in this country also does not help matters, as it takes an awful long time to settle electoral disputes.

 It is for these reasons that people sometimes take the law into their own hands.

The incidence of rigging the elections can be greatly minimised if political parties take seriously their responsibility for protecting the integrity of the electoral process.  Continued    Source: J. Nunoo-Mensah

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