‘A Triumph And Not A Disaster’:  Is This Rhetoric?

CHATHAM HOUSE an iconic venue at the Royal Institute of International Affairs probably hosted its biggest guest ahead of the 2016 general elections last week in London. Something big was cooking, which had pulled many dignitaries there. But a bespectacled lady who stood behind a lectern looking poised to deliver a speech to a diverse crowd from across the capital was the centre of attraction.

The lady is perhaps the most vilified or criticised person and possibly the most hated individual in this political season. She’s seen as a friend to one political party and a foe to another. Her job requires good judgement, good temperament and a cool head. It also requires her to be unbiased and independent even though she’s her own political leanings. Integrity is also an essential requirement.

The guest was none other than the chairperson of Ghana’s Electoral Commission (EC), Mrs. Charlotte Osei. Yes, Charlotte was in Chatham House and she produced her signature menu. She addressed international stakeholders about Ghana’s 2016 elections, under the headline: “Ghana’s 2016 Elections Process and Priorities of the Electoral Commission.”

Perhaps you couldn’t make it to the venue to see the EC Boss catalogued her plans for the nation in the upcoming general elections. You must’ve also missed her on the television screens and the sprawling radio stations across the metropolis.

Maybe, you saw her via the social media platforms or you chanced upon a group of persons who were busy involved in a gossip around the corner-----where the source of the news often lives abroad, where facts and figures are indiscriminately distorted or otherwise butchered. In Ghanaian parlance: They say they say always they say--- but you’d neither see nor meet who said what, when and where.

By the way, that’s not a big deal I missed the Chatham House programme myself. I missed her body language. And I missed the Q&A, if the forum did allow that segment. Nonetheless, I’m fortunate to have this powerful medium to examine what transpired at the venue. And I think the rest would be determined by the turf come December 7.

So, if you missed all of the above, this is another slice of the same pie.

And here’s how Mrs. Osei did it--- putting her best foot forward. She pitched from the get go, touting Ghana’s electoral system as strong and more transparent than most electoral systems across the world, a feature she boasted, makes it impossible (I don’t know about that ---difficult probably will be acceptable) for anyone to rig.

“Ghana’s electoral system is strong and more transparent than most electoral systems globally which makes it impossible for anyone to rig,” she said.

No doubt her grand plan was to clear doubts about the EC’s credibility to hold free, fair and a more transparent elections, assuring Ghanaians that per its track record the electoral body would pass the test and there was no cause for alarm. Mrs. Osei also underscored that she means good and nothing evil for the country.

“The priority of the electoral commission and my priority and I hope the priority of all Ghanaians is to see peaceful and undisputed elections on December 7,”she stated.

Critics of the EC say the electoral body doesn’t understand the very laws the commission drafted. Mr. Casely-Hayford member of OccupyGhana has mocked at the EC saying: “The Electoral Commission that actually drafted the Constitutional Instrument, CI 94 don’t even understand what they wrote and how they were going to use it to be able to streamline and bring some sanity into the presidential and parliamentary nominations.”

He claimed: “The commission is losing cases because they have totally misunderstood what they were trying to achieve.”

But the EC Boss has maintained that her outfit would do everything within its power to ensure that there’s triumph and not disaster in the December 7 general polls.

Her proclamation to conduct a free, fair and transparent election has also attracted criticism from a section of the populace. The critics think it’s just rhetoric to water down the backlash the commission had been facing in recent times, especially in the wake of the disqualification of 12 presidential aspirants.

For example, someone posted this comment on Ghanaweb.com after the chairperson had delivered the Chatham House speech.

“Preaching virtues whilst practising vice… It’s not about sweet speeches. It’s all about the realities on the ground... The EC boss should put personal interest aside, to me she has something fishy with the NDC guys and the earlier she retracts her steps towards rigging the better ...”

Another wrote: “...Did you change the voters register? Are you aware that some foreigners registered with national health insurance cards? Are you aware Ghanaians don’t really trust you based on your selective favouritism? You’re trying to rig the election for John Mahama...”

The rest of the comment has no space here.
Indeed the question about trust and other uncertainties tend to fuel all these allegations. There has been allegation also that Mrs. Osei is an NDC card bearer and would rig the elections for the ruling party. Whether that’s true or not, I think these are serious issues the EC Boss would have to deal with from now until the elections are over.

The question is: How do you convince the voting public that you are Paul but not Saul?

Again, to do that the EC chairperson set a beautiful template and laid bare the six successful elections Ghana had had since 1992 and also gave the assurance that the 7^th election would be a success story. She painted her outfit as a viable and a more credible institution and used comparison as a vital tool to make her case, thereby comparing and contrasting Ghana’s political history with her neighbours in the ECOWAS sub region.

And I believe she’d Ghana’s closest neighbour to the west---- the Ivory Coast including, Liberia, Sierra Leone and tiny Togo in mind.

“So not only has Ghana managed to buck its own trends since 1992, it has also defied the trends of regional politics. In the same period of time that we held our six elections and consolidated our democracy in Ghana, our neighbours in ECOWAS, have suffered 14 coups, three civil wars, a dozen regional insurgencies and countless foreign interventions. And that sort of instability of course breeds its own problems---lawlessness, terrorism, human trafficking, drugs and arms smuggling, Mrs. Osei told the gathering.

Comparison is a rhetorical or a literary device in which a writer compares and contrasts two people, places things or ideas. Politicians like it too. Here the EC chairperson compared places. Most of our neighbours had seen wars, coups and acts of terrorism as she alluded to. The distinction therefore, was more than palpable. Which one would you prefer a country in chaos or a stable and a democratic one?

The essence of the comparison also sought to portray and project Ghana’s status as a nation basking in peace and glory. In other words, we were second to none in the sub region in terms of our democratic credentials, economic stability, peace and security.

She dismissed claims that the EC is subject to political interference, noting that it has instituted a suite of specific legal measures to ensure the December polls are as transparent as possible.”

But to prevent that from happening, she said the commission has made the great efforts, to build a more active presence online with new media, by creating a large following on both Facebook and Twitter and intend to hold briefings for the media and the public until the final results are declared on election day.

Additionally, she believed her outfit’s good work would come to naught if the media wasn’t advised to desist from declaring elections as that could cause a disturbing scene. “The greatest challenges facing Ghana’s election is the potential for the media to call the election results ahead of the EC, which may tend to create confusion in the minds of the voting public.”

I couldn’t agree with her more on that. And I’d humbly suggest that (if this hasn’t taken place already) all media houses, print and electronic should avail themselves to some sort educational training ahead of the polls. The media is not supposed to call or declare election results. The media project elections and they are not finality. The media houses that broadcast in Akan and other Ghanaian languages must be mindful of using the right terminology to avoid confusion and commotion.

Election results declaration is the sole responsibility of the EC. As the fourth estate, our core functions are---to educate, inform and entertain the public. They haven’t changed. That said I should commend Joy FM, an Accra-based radio station for a good job done in the 2012 election. The station made projections and not declarations.

Next to be cautioned were the political players of the game. And I hope the likes of Sir John, Asiedu Nketiah (aka General Mosquito) Koku Anyidoho, and Kennedy Agyepong got the message right. Mrs. Osei noted it wasn’t a healthy practice for them to whip up sentiments by their incendiary remarks: “Our political stakeholders are it seems master of raising the political temperature every election year, stressing we’ve a legacy to protect and very real challenge to it this December. “

So how exactly are we going to ensure that this election is a ‘triumph and not a disaster?’

In furtherance to the above, the EC Boss catalogued a number of measures put in place to achieve that: “I believe that EC’s previous successes were undoubtedly powered by its core staff with support of the tens of thousands of the temporary election officers. A significant majority of these core staff are still at post and as part of our efforts to improve on the electoral outcome, we further developed their capacity,” she stated.

“Not only that, we have increased the educational qualification of the temporary officers we would be using for the elections. We have also improved the quality of their training to ensure they deliver better. And of course they will have the same experienced team supervising this year’s elections.

Our commission has been responsible for the successful conduct of the previous elections which have made Ghana earn the solid reputation as a stable and mature democracy and an example for the rest of the continent, if not the world.

Despite their depth knowledge and their wide range of skills in managing elections, we are not allowing ourselves to become complacent. As a result, all our staff have received more training this year, in fact much more than in any other year.”

Charlotte called on international stakeholders to begin to hold African politicians to a higher level of scrutiny discourse during African elections. This, she believed, would promote free, fair and transparent elections on the continent.