Election 2024: Protect Your Territory, Don’t Permit Encroachment – Kwadwo Afari-Gyan

Mr. Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, a political scientist, former election administrator, and Chairman of the Electoral Commission of Ghana from 1993 to 2015, has overseen elections across Africa in addition to managing consecutive elections in his home nation of Ghana. Despite many years of retiring, Mr. Afari-Gyan has no time to relax; he is back in the media educating Ghanaians on how to successfully defend their ballots, as the country's voters will elect an effective leader on December 7.

Ghana is one of many African nations that lack actual democracy; instead, it is a disguised democracy that is strained, painful, and disjointed due to the ruling government's persistent violations of the Constitution, which have left the country lawless. Many Ghanaians, like Mr. Afari-Gyan, are disturbed by the current NPP government's public declaration that they will rig the elections, despite the fact that electoral fraud has always been a covert problem with administrations.

The former electoral administrator has responded to the request for interviews to inform Ghanaians about how to prevent the widespread electoral rigging challenges that the ruling government has threatened to impose on the populace to maintain power for a failed vice president as president, despite his failure to fulfill all of his promises, including the construction of public toilets. However, due to the country's terrible economic situation, amid GHC 763 billion in public debt, Ghanaians wish to prevent this.

While in opposition, Akufo Addo and Bawumia frequently attacked previous Ghanaian leader John Mahama, calling him corrupt and incompetent, even though he successfully started a number of projects around the country, including the Ashanti Region, which is the ruling party's base. The president, who once urged Ghanaians to remove him from office if he failed, is now endangering the populace and national security, with reckless claims that his administration will never cede power to the opposition.

Money laundering, rampant corruption, financial mismanagement, and the intentional closure of eight financially troubled institutions all had a negative influence on the nation's economy, which in turn had an effect on businesses and investments. The president's relative, Ken Ofori-Atta, invested up to GHC 25 billion to dissolve the banks so that his Data Bank could have a sole monopoly, despite the fact that the faltering banks needed roughly GHC 9 billion to become strong and acquire pace.

Ghanaians have no choice but to vote out this awful, incompetent, and inhumane government that lacks integrity and remorse because billions of their dollars have been wasted or embezzled, such as the three times that money was illegally printed without parliament's approval, the stolen COVID funds, the $58 million that was embezzled for a cathedral without a foundation, the GHC 60 billion that the Bank of Ghana lost, and other stolen funds budgeted for projects that were never carried out.

However, the more they struggle to break free from the NPP government's corrupt iron fist, the more Akufo Addo, Jean Mensa, and Mahamudu Bawumia, the failed vice president who aspires to the presidency, violate the Constitution and prepare for election rigging. Frequently detected transferring voter names to unidentified locations, printing incorrect ballot paper serial numbers, erasing opposition voter names, and other offenses, Jean Mensa swiftly defends herself by describing them as mistakes.

It is no secret that Ghanaians now require Mr. Afari-Gyan to build their resilience against the pressure and violence the ruling government is willing to inflict on the populace to dissuade them from casting ballots, in addition to educating them on how to combat electoral frauds to ensure a free and fair election. In response to an interview question, Mr. Afari-Gyan said that while it is clear that someone wishes to manipulate the results, voters or the populace "should protect their territory without allowing any encroachment."

During a public lecture hosted by the UPSA Law School and the OneGhana Movement, Mr. Afari-Gyan discussed Ghana's constitution, elections, and judiciary while highlighting the potential for election violence. He said, "I have stated repeatedly that the Electoral Commission can prepare an election as well as possible, but if the external environment is not right, the prospect of a free and fair election can be likened to washing a piece of white cloth in dirty water." I'm hoping it won't get discolored.

I would like to use this opportunity to thank Mr. Afari-Gyan for educating Ghanaians about safe elections, as he has done in the past years. However, I will advise Akufo Addo and Jean Mensa that it will be difficult or impossible for them to force Bawumia on Ghanaians, much as they did with the E-Levy, which destroyed people's lives and businesses. Everything in Ghana has collapsed, including the nation’s cocoa industry, due to illegal mining.

Since Bawumia is certain that he would win because he is aware of the EC or Jean Mensa’s diabolical plans to rig the election for him, Ghanaians are also not stupid enough to accept a vice president who couldn’t construct the toilets he promised the people to be president. Ghanaians cannot bear the shame around the world, therefore, we will make sure he will never step the flagstaff House as president. If there is violence in Ghana during the elections, Akufo Addo, Bawumia, and Jean Mensa, are responsible.