Fair Election

An election is democratic when each ballot cast counts as one.

Votes counted, are the votes cast. When one votes for candidate A that vote is counted as one vote for candidate A. If two people cast votes for candidate B those two votes are to be counted for candidate B.

This did not happen as compatriots learned from the 2012 Supreme Court election petition proceedings.

The challenge facing this, two days away, election is how a vote cast for candidate Nana Addo-Dankwa Akufo-Addo will be counted in his name.

People are elected by people and not by geography.
In the 2012 election, victory was claimed by a parliamentary majority that had fewer votes in total than the total votes of the minority. That is not one person one vote.

Candidate Akufo-Addo is singled out for mention because he was the one who was cheated in 2012.

The evidence is overwhelming that in 2012, the election was stolen from him. The expectation of my compatriots, therefore, is that this 2016 election, each vote cast for him will be counted for him. No election organising would have credibility in claiming that votes cast for him were counted for him if any one of the stealing tactics of 2012 is allowed to be repeated.

Many compatriots I have talked to are fearful the 2012 stealing will recur. They seem to have very little confidence in the organisation organising the election. To them, the record of partiality is clear and not much seems to have been done to correct it.

Free election is being threatened by the fear of some of Tain 2008 type of sixty-four battalion intimidation and even ballot box snatching.

There is speculation of some marching in full battle gear to frighten. The freedom threat is, however, peanuts compared to the congress sworn swear to cheat and throw fairness to the wind.

Certain measures can contain rigging although the doctored register makes that daunting. Voting must be a one-day exercise, no matter what. Malfunctioning machines, run down batteries, nothing should extend voting beyond 11.59 pm voting day (already compromised in special voting). Absolutely no overnight carry over voting. Pre-empt dumsɔ incidents.

Ensure transparent and accurate counting. No results transmission tricks. Constituency results should be simultaneously posted on EC website when being announced. Let's ballot for order constituency by constituency announcing of results nationally. Collate presidential votes first with parliamentary results to follow.

Unsuccessful dress rehearsal in special voting must not be allowed to be a harbinger of bad or worse things to come; because, the motherland does not deserve that. Voting is about exercising freedom in pursuit of justice. When an election is allowed to be stolen or when it degenerates into chaos it engenders slavery and subverts justice.  Let freedom and justice prevail by achieving a reasonably accurate and credible election results; and not the December 1 chaos.

The way and manner in which an election was conducted on December 1, 2016 leaves doubt that there would be a free and fair election on December 7.

There are all kinds of theories being bandied about in trying to describe and explain what happened on December 1, in order to predict what will likely happen on December 7.

Three are making most rounds. One is her personal incompetence because there is no evidence of her being an achiever anywhere.

Then there are within commission pull her down forces who want her undoing for her too known arrogance. Third is the congress determination to use her to rig.

Some say undermining peeved actors before the saucy actor woman want her failure; that before her, they were. Others think it is the massive congress rigging machine in motion. Neither nor madam's personal incompetence predicts a free and especially fair election on December 7.

The register is irredeemably flawed. The failures of December 1 are indicators of a botched register, which is anything but reasonably accurate and credible. Madam cannot manage a 137,000 register. Success with one of fifteen million names, only a nutty soothsayer would predict.

This is a motherland of 'Fa ma Nyame' and 'Nyame bɛ ye.' Good old Joe Appiah warned that no serious achievement happens with 'Let sleeping dogs lie.'

That is still true today. So for compatriots who genuinely (not the V8 peace mongers) wish for post-election peace, pray the kind of prayer that will, indeed, fulfil that wish. For, the stage is set for massive election botching resulting from the pull her down inside commission antagonists or congress determination to rig at all cost. What a punishment for a rich motherland of harmless 'me mpɛ me ho asɛm compatriots.'

There's hope, though, for freedom and justice in the Yahya Jammeh uprooting.

By Kwasi Ansu-Kyeremeh