Political Indiscretion At Its Best...

Nana Akufo-Addo’s management of the adverse results of elections 2012 to date has constituted a major setback for himself and the NPP. In this regard, his initial reaction to defeat in election 2012 by way of questioning theintegrity of Dr. AfariDjan and the Electoral Commission is quite significant.

This resulted in the 2012 Supreme Court election petition in which the role of the Electoral Commission was placed under thespotlight and subjected to extreme scrutiny in the court case that was publicized for all to see.

Interestingly, the voters register which was used for the 2012 elections was never the main subject of this petition. At the end of the case, the Supreme Court dismissed the challenge to the results as declared by EC and declared John Mahama the winner. Indeed the significant aspect of the Supreme Court’s decision was that it endorsed the final figures as declared by the EC.Not a single vote was added to or subtracted from the final vote tally as declared by the EC.

The Supreme Court case thus offered Nana AkuffoAddo and the NPP the best opportunity to raise all issues of discontent associated with election 2012 including that of the register. However in a clear case of political indiscretion, Nana AkuffoAddo and for that matter sections of the NPP have failed to truly concede defeat inelection2012even after the outcome of the election petition,and have continued to look for extraneous reasons for the defeat instead of engaging in a complete and candid assessment of the real causes of the defeat.

The premises for this suicidal strategy has been to find no fault within but rather place the cause of the defeat on extraneous circumstances such as blaming the EC and its administrative structures for the defeat. It is this same political strategy that continues to be pursued and has caused Nana AkuffoAddo to fall on the electoral register as a prospective excuse for the near certain outcome of election 2016 to the detriment of the fortunes of the NPP.

In the 2000 elections when the NPP had J.A Kuffour as its flag bearer, he exhibited prudent leadership by taking the bull by the horn and devised a strategy to secure victory on the basis of the imperfect electoral structures that he had to operate with. Indeed the electoral structures that then existed cannot be comparedto the advanced biometric system that exists today. Yet President Kuffour executed his political strategy by refraining from attacking the intergrity of the EC as he came to meet it, and won with the card he had to play with.

In 2008 when NANA AkuffoAddo lost the elections by an estimated 40,000 votes on an electoral register which was compiled during the era of an NPP government, he still found an excuse to question the results. Again in 2012, when he lost the elections by a wider margin of an estimated 300,000 votes, he adopted the strategy of contesting the results and managed to convince his party to believe that he did not loose the election- a position which was clearly shown to be incorrect by the Supreme Court’s verdict.

Therefore to alarmingly raise the issue of the electoral register in 2015, as has recently been done by AkuffoAddo, is an act of political indiscretion which is destined to result in electoral failure one more time for Nana AkuffoAddo and the NPP.

Firstly, the issue of the electoral register as raised by Nana AkuffoAddo has resurrected tribal sentiments which needed to be quieted going into election 2016 for Nana AkuffoAddo and the NPP to have a serious prospect of victory in 2016.This is indeed a clear case of political indiscretion and a pointer to Nana AkuffoAddo’s lack of politicalsavy and leadership acumen that J.A Kuffour offered the NPP during his period as flagbearer.

Secondly, the issue of the electoral register as recently raised presupposes that the election 2012 results were compromised by extraneous circumstances, when indeed the Supreme Court decision has clearly shown otherwise. This suicidal strategy aims at deflecting attention from an internal scrutiny of the circumstances within the NPP that have resulted in Nana AkuffoAddo loosing elections2008 and 2012 and very likely election 2016. Political indiscretion and lack of prudent leadership has certainly been the primary cause of the NPP’s electoral misfortunes with AkuffoAddo as itsflagbearer, and fortunately or unfortunately continue to be the cause of the party’s misfortunes.

Economic hardship, labour unrests and other adverse national issues alone will not compel Ghanaians to change political leadership if the alternative leadership available presents itself more problematic than what is in place. Alternative leadership that is unable to foster unity within its own party ranks, and engages in unnecessaryattacks on major state institutions for political expediency would not command the confidence that is required to change the current political leadership. Alternative leadership that has no clear and distinct message from what is available would notcompel change in leadership among Ghanaians. Likewise, alternative leadership that recklessly stokes the flames of tribal sentiments has no serious chance of success in its quest for political power.

Nana AkuffoAddo has so far not demonstrated the necessary leadership required to win power for the NPP as was exhibited by J.A Kuffour, and is once again on the fast road to defeat in 2016. The reasons for his imminent failure in 2016 would definitely have nothing to do with the EC and its electoral register but rather his lack of the requisite prudent leadership and management qualities needed for electoral victory in Ghana’s complex political landscape.He is sowing the seeds of his defeat in election 2016 by his own deeds, and should not again blame extraneous factors for such an outcome.

God Bless our Homeland Ghana.
Report By: Mensah Dekportor (Hamburg – Germany)

NDC- Germany Communication Director
Email: [email protected]

SUPREM COURT