Charlotte Osei’s press conference was timely, but …

 
 
Yesterday, around 5:00pm, Mrs. Charlotte Osei, Chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC), broke her silence at a press conference, where she called on anxious Ghanaians to allow her outfit put together the results of the polls before announcing it.

She made it clear that the Commission cannot, under any circumstance, change the outcome of the just-ended presidential and parliamentary elections, and called on all and sundry to remain calm while the results trickle in.

The EC Chairperson disclosed that going forward, her outfit would, every two hours, update the good people of this country about the state of the elections, which The Chronicle believes is a welcome idea.

However, the paper thinks that Mrs. Osei's announcement came rather late, because if she had done this declaration much earlier, it would have saved many Ghanaians, especially supporters and sympathisers of both the out-going National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration and the in-coming New Patriotic Party (NPP) government lots of anxiety.

That notwithstanding, the announcement came to ease the stress and frustrations of the teeming Ghanaian population, not forgetting the pressure the local media had been subjected to.

After going to the polls and casting their ballots peacefully, Ghanaians were patiently awaiting the announcement of the results, which many, especially members and supporters of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), had anticipated.

But, in all of that, the electoral management body remained silent, thus compelling the two biggest political parties in the country to make claims and counter-claims, insisting that they have won the elections.

The supporters and sympathisers of the NPP, monitoring the media and observing that their party was winning, felt that the Commission was unduly delaying in announcing the results of the elections.

Before her announcement, the NDC and NPP each held two press conferences. The first was addressed by the Campaign Chairman of the NPP, Peter Mac Manu, who pointed out that the party had won the elections, and also captured many parliamentary seats.

The NDC, on the other hand, did not take kindly to the NPP's press conference, because, according to Ofosu Ampofo, Director of Elections, and Koku Anyidoho, deputy General Secretary, who addressed the media, the announcement was treasonable and against the rules of the game, saying it is only the EC which has the mandate to do so.

There were reports that the US Ambassador to Ghana, Robert Porter Jackson, visited the residence of Nana Akufo-Addo to discuss matters bordering on the general elections.

It is believed the US envoy advised the NPP leader to whip his supporters in line, as tempers flared over the EC's seemingly delay in declaring the results of the elections, and also appealed to the party to remain calm and wait for the official declaration of the results by the EC.

It is obvious that the earlier visit of officials of the National Peace Council to the EC Chairperson’s office compelled her (Mrs. Osei) to hold the press conference to make her announcement.

This is why The Chronicle congratulates Rev Emmanuel Asante, Chairman of the National Peace Council, and his team of eminent personalities, for working so hard to get the EC boss to break her silence.

The Chronicle is, however, surprised that with all the results being churned out, which indicate that the Akufo-Addo-led NPP is winning, the President John Dramani Mahama-led NDC is still making claims that it (NDC) is in the lead, according to its own collation.

The NPP, according to Sammy Awuku, now has 170 parliamentary seats, which would obviously help the party form the majority in Parliament. One, therefore, wonders why the NDC should even fight to get its president retained, since it is going to make the country ungovernable for him.

It is the hope of the paper that the Electoral Commission would walk its talk and communicate with the media every two hours, as its boss had indicated, until the final results have been declared.

This, we believe, would go a long way to reduce the seeming tension lurking around waiting to rear its ugly head to destroy the peace and harmony Ghanaians have enjoyed over the years.