Political Shakeup In Ghana:  EC Knocks Down 12 Presidential Aspirants

Twelve presidential nominees bidding to serve at the Flagstaff House---the seat of government in the 2016 December poll have found themselves in the eye of the storm.

But it could get worse as they’d have to deal with the police for suspected acts of forgeries and other criminalities.

It was a heavy storm like tsunami that hit Ghana’s political landscape on Monday --jolting political ambitions of the 12 candidates. Among them former first Lady Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings, NDP, Dr. Edward Mahama, PNC, and Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom, PPP have all been disqualified by the Electoral Commission(EC) to contest in the forthcoming presidential election.

This is the second time in four years that the wife of former president Jerry John Rawlings had been disqualified. She’d her forms rejected in 2012.

The nominees some of them independent failed to meet the key criteria for the position.

The action seen by many political observers as ‘shocking’ and ‘too harsh’ was taken by EC, the body that is responsible for elections in Ghana and also ensures that all public elections held in the country are free, fair and transparent. It’s a seven –member panel and its independence is guaranteed by the 1992 constitution.

It however accepted nominations of three major political parties and an independent candidate. They’re Nana Addo-Dankwa Akufo-Addo, New Patriotic Party, John Dramani Mahama, National Democratic Congress, Ivor Kobina Greenstreet, Convention Peoples’ Party and Jacob Osei Yeboah, independent candidate.

Was EC’s action too harsh?
The move has been condemned by some of the aspirants. National Democratic presidential nominee Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings has given the EC 48 hour’s ultimatum to rescind its disqualification move. The candidate’s forms were disqualified this time around because of one the subscribers had signed as a resident of two districts in the Volta and Central region respectively.

Communications director of the party Ernest Owusu Bempa h said: “the decision was a calculated to give the incumbent National

Business man and politician Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom and his party executive members got themselves preoccupied at the party’s headquarters hours after the storm hit him. It is believed the crisis meeting is to find the way forward.

Dr. Edward Mahama presidential nominee for the People’s National Party (PNP) was understood to be holding similar meeting the party’s head office in Accra.

There have been also been reactions from all quarter and gown. On GIJANA Chartroom --a professional platform created for Ghanaian journalists based in North America one of its founding members Mr. Samuel Kissiedu (a journalist and former sports writer for Graphic Sports had this say about the commission: “The EC should create a level playing for all.”

He noted that given the time energy and finances expended in the entire process the commission should have tempered justice with mercy.

“How do you disqualify aspirants on flimsy excuses after all the time, treasure and trouble to bid for the highest office of the land,”

With regard to those that the commission disqualified on the basis of falsification of signatures Mr. Kissiedu said they’d gotten what they deserved and he would shed no tears for them.

“Those disqualified on criminality like forgery of signatures have no tears. But those red carded on technicalities need a review. EC should give grace period of 48 hours for corrections to be made to submissions after drawing their attention to errors/omissions.

Anything short of this he believes “the disqualification would smell of an orchestrated attempt to skew the elections in favour of a particular party in the swing central and region and make the ‘World Bank, (Volta) secure for..’

The current commission was established by the Electoral Commission Act (Act 451) 1993. And I think it must be commended for the action taken against these nominees provided the disqualified candidates indeed failed to meet the criteria spelt out in the blueprint.

I strongly believe there should be no room for mediocrity when it comes to governing a nation. It doesn’t bode well for our fledgling democracy. So I welcome the action by the EC as it serves as a bulwark to separate ‘the boys from the men’.