Mahama-Hijacked NDC Is Guilt-Tripping The Electoral Commissioner!

For the past week or so, this writer has taken the time to focus on the raw manipulative campaign tactics of former President John Dramani Mahama and his minions. This columnist also pointed out that in addition to manipulations, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) flag-bearer's behavior, since losing miserably in 2016 presidential election to then challenger Nana Kwaku Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo, is consistent with an individual experiencing regressive episodes. Shortly, we will switch to another form of Mr. Mahama's exploitative tricks.

Following or listening to the pronouncements of the main opposition party, and its current presidential candidate in particular, Nana Addo's electoral victory in 2016 and his subsequent assumption of the presidency are deviant occurrences that need to be stopped from recurring in 2020. To that extent, Mr. Mahama and his campaign team are employing every “dirty” means they can think of in an effort to dislodge the “Kyebi Tough Guy” administration from power.

Obviously, one of the Mahama-controlled NDC's political calculus here is to repeatedly demonize and guilt-trip Madam Jean Mensah-led Electoral Commission to the point where any credulous voter among the population will view the Electoral Commissioner as untrustworthy public official to conduct free and fair elections. Hence, it does not come as a surprise that Ms. Jean Mensah and her office have become unfortunate punching bag for ex-President Mahama and his hangers-on in their grand political strategy to ensure that the “Bole Bamboi Darling Boy” becomes president again.

Certainly, the Mahama-bankrolled NDC knows exactly why his party machine is creepily and annoyingly all over Madam Jean Mensah's every legitimate move. In this part of the world or in Africa, for instance, one key institution that—unfortunately—has been given almost unlimited power to control the destiny of elections is the electoral commission/bureau or whatever it is described in each African nation.

Given the immense, constitutional powers the usually-centralized electoral institutions have in African elections, often many unscrupulous heads of state in this continent connive with their electoral bodies to rig elections in favor of the incumbent governments. The preceding scenario is what is probably giving former President Mahama nightmarish experiences each passing day. For obvious reasons, former President Mahama seems to distrust his own politics, so one does not expect him to trust any of his opponents' political moves, let alone the head of the electoral commission who replaces his favorite choice—Ms. Charlotte Osei.

As many of us know, Mr. Mahama has been on that winding road before. In simple terms, he definitely knows how to rig elections (he tried it in 2016 but couldn't succeed) so even when Ms. Jean Mensah coughs, it is viewed as a source of grave concern and existential threat to the NDC's presidential aspirant's electoral expectations. Perhaps, Ghanaians have to “understand” Mr. Mahama for his incessant accusations, albeit wrongly, of the current EC that her office is preparing to rig the upcoming elections in December of this year.

As the proverbial “throat cutter” that he is, the very idea of telling ex-President JD Mahama to prostrate blindfolded, even on the well-laid-out king-sized bed, will still evoke some “karma feelings” within the NDC leader that he is about to reap what he had sown when he was in charge. In many ways, the foregoing accounts for the reason Mr. Mahama, Ofosu-Ampofo, Asiedu Nketia, including the entire NDC communication or misinformation team, have turned Ms. Jean Mensah into a “whipping girl” to make up for the ideas-anemic electioneering campaign of the main opposition party.

Evidently, Mr. Mahama and his political poodles are employing guilt-tripping techniques specifically directed at the Electoral Commissioner because in manipulative communication—whether expressed or in nonlinguistic format—the person attempting to generate guilty sentiments out of another individual does that with the sole purpose of controlling the target's state of mind or behavior. Guilt-tripping, therefore, is an extreme form of psychosomatic/mental manipulation and intimidation designed to enable the inducer (NDC?) of the guilt gets what he/she wants from the person at the receiving end—in this case, EC Madam Jean Mensah.

If Ghanaians will remember an audio recorded tape purported to be the voice of the chairperson of NDC Mr. Ofosu-Ampofo. In the said secretly recorded audiotape, the speaker was heard devising an elaborate plot on how to wage psychological warfare against the EC Ms. Jean Mensah. If the voice on the tape is indeed that of the main opposition party's chairman (he is yet to deny it), then it goes to underscore the fact that the Electoral Commissioner is the strategic target of Mahama-hijacked NDC guilt-tripping machinations.

It really is a disturbing spectacle that for no fault of hers, the classy and relatively ethical incumbent EC Ms. Jean Mensah has been put in ex-President Mahama's self-serving boiling pot of guilt-tripping. But, that is the essence of all guilt-tripping ploys. In fact, guilt-trippers like JDM, Asiedu Nketia, Ofosu-Ampofo, and many others will not let their target(s) off the hook once they have initiated their plots. For the guilt-trippers such as those found in Mahama's presidential campaign team, one of their major goals is to over-dramatize uncomplicated or simple issues, while making their targets perceive a sense of guilt or feel obligated for the cause of any perceived grievance.

In sum, whenever anyone hears from Mahama-hijacked NDC pretentiously but bitterly accusing the Electoral Commissioner of “plotting” to tilt the upcoming general elections in favor of Nana Addo-led ruling NPP government, try to ask yourself “what time it is” as Americans would say. This is because in the mind control games of guilt-tripping, many unsuspecting individuals in this country may find it difficult to spot the numerous political pranks of ex-President John Dramani Mahama in his effort to win back power!

Bernard Asubonteng is a US-based writer and also a political science lecturer