Let Fairness, Peace Prevail

The people of Talensi go to the polls today to elect a representative for the House of Parliament, the reason for which is too glaring to be rehashed.

Be it as it may, we are constrained to ask that all should play by the rules so that at the end of the day we can individually give a pass mark to ourselves for the extra notch democracy has climbed this far.

We have observed the wrangling and political activities which preceded today. But for the social media inflammation of the activities and sometimes exaggerations, there has not been any breach of the law and public peace. That itself is enough evidence that some progress is being made in our practice of democracy.

Ghanaians are generally peace-loving and would go the extra mile to protect this critical attribute. Today the Electoral Commission (EC) will relish an opportunity to prove that it can live up to the expectation of the people of Ghana, against the backdrop of the public bashing it suffered after the Supreme Court election petition hearing and the botched district assemblies polls.

Its management of today's polls would go a long way in convincing Ghanaians that given another chance it would open a new leaf.

A few days ago apprehension had gripped observers about the preparation of the EC ahead of today's poll. Information about details of presiding officers and vital documents not being in the possession of the political parties made worrying comprehension. The New Patriotic Party (NPP) raised justifiable objection about the anomalous situation. Thankfully though, we have learnt about how eventually the standard demands were met.

We would not be ready for stories about malfunctioning biometric machines and other avoidable challenges.

The issues which the NPP had with the law enforcement command in the Upper East Region also nearly tainted the process, but that too was resolved and the largest opposition party was able to hold its rally. No bones were broken – a situation which made nonsense of the earlier apprehension that the NDC and the NPP holding simultaneous rallies in the same constituency could trigger a breach of peace.

The police and the political parties must trust each other as this is critical in maintaining law and order in our especially polarized society. The mistrust and generally no-love-lost relationship between the two does not augur well for the growth of democracy.

The root of this can be traced to the usual interference in law enforcement work by politicians at the helm. Let political parties who are in power remember that they would serve out their tenure one day, leaving the country intact.

Political parties in power should do unto others what they would want for themselves when they are in opposition. The law enforcement agencies should be insulated from politics. Using such cheap punitive measures like transferring officers who refuse to do the dirty biddings of the politicians whose parties are in power, should be stopped forthwith.