Diversity but not conflict
The heading of this article is taken from the advice of the National Chief Imam, Sheik Osmanu Nuhu Shaributu to Ghanaians, when a delegation of different Christian denominations, led by Mr. Felix Amoako, President of the Bible Study and Prayer Group of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, recently called on him at his residence in Accra.
The Need for Peace
The National Chief Imam is reported to have told the delegates that God had made it possible for Ghanaians to understand the importance of peace, even as we apply it in our lives as Christians and Muslims.
This advice goes to our political parties, religious denominations, traditional rulers and individuals, because all of us need to co-exist peacefully, especially this year, being an election year. It is not only the National Chief Imam who is concerned with peace for the nation. The leaders of our Christian denominations, our chiefs, the political leaderships and many well-meaning citizens too have been expressing their concerns for peaceful elections this year. The National Peace Council, for example, has been spending sleepless nights thinking of its 2024 Peace Pact the signing of which seems to be in the balance.
Perennial Political Tension
The perennial political tension in every election year must have hidden root causes that need to be identified and resolved, once and for all.
Root Causes
The immediate causes I can identify are the President’s constitutional power for the appointment of the Chairman/Chairperson and members of the Electoral Commission and also the undisclosed tenure of office up to the retirement age of 60 years which is renewable to 65 years.
Appointment
Until some amendments are made to the exclusive power of our Presidents to appoint the “referee and linesmen” for a match in which he and his political party are contestants, any appointees given to Ghanaians will rightly be greeted with mixed feelings of suspicion of possible bias of gaining electoral advantage over the other parties. This is so because nobody will expect any reasonable President to nominate for such appointment anyone whose commitment to him is in doubt.
Even, the involvement of the Council of State in the appointment process does not wipe away such a suspicion because of its own composition which the constitution has made to favour the President and his party.
It has been proved that, depending on where parties in the country stand in governance, the Electoral Commission is either good or bad. The only time that the Commission is acceptable to all parties is when they have gone through with the elections of their Presidential and Parliamentary candidates as well as their regional, constituency and other Executives.
Tenure of Office
The undisclosed tenure of the Ghanaian Electoral Commission Chairman/Chairperson and Deputies should be looked at again because of the possibility of the officers appointed being in post for too long (if they have the grace of God to live long and healthy). Staying for such an undisclosed term is surely likely to expose their true allegiance towards the President who appointed them (unless when they are able to defend their personal integrity or are held seriously accountable by the parties) and this can easily arouse tension against the Commission from, especially, the opposition parties. For example, when a President appoints a 40-year-old Chairman/ Chairperson and deputies they will surprise, at least five 4-year Parliamentary/ Presidential elections by their 60th year.
Free Speech
Another cause for perennial tension is the inability or lack of interest by the powers that be to see to the preservation of the decent decorum that the constitution has laid for the citizens. Political parties seem to have no interest in educating their members on how they have to respect divergent opinions. Insulting divergent opinions has been too rampant in the social media and on the airwaves.
Solutions
On appointment of the Commission, we can look at the example of the United Kingdom’s Parliament which appoints its Commission in consultation with the political parties, including opposition parties, and civil society organizations in the open recruitment process to ensure their true neutrality and independence and also their accountability to Parliament. The Prime Minister or the Monarch has no role in this. In Cape Verde, the Commissioners are generally elected by the National Assembly, with the active involvement of political parties and Civil Society. In South Africa, on the other hand, a panel, chaired by the Chief Justice, does the recommendation for the President’s appointment followed by parliamentary approval. In Nigeria, the President makes the nominations, subject to legislative confirmation (like in Ghana).
For the Tenure of Office, we may look at the five-year tenure for the Chairman and members of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of Nigeria, which is renewable only once, (with Professor Mohammed Yakubu presently enjoying his second and final five-year term which is ending in November, 2025. The other is the case of the United Kingdom, where Mr. John Pulliinger and his team are ending their first four-year tenure in May, 2025. Cape Verde has a definite one-time tenure of six-years for the Commission Chairman and members.
The Press
Our media houses, under the supervision of the National Media Commission backed by the Ghana Journalism Association, can help in the control of the tension by avoiding the temptation of joining the chorus of filling the airwaves with half-baked truths and insults.
Constitutional Review
The Constitutional Review Committee needs to be approached by the National Peace Council (if it is not too late), to look at these two major areas. The reservation of the appointment processes for Presidents should be reviewed. So also should the tenure of the Chairperson and the members not be tied to the statutory retirement age of 60 years for 40-year appointees to stay on for twenty (20) or more years. Persons on retirement too should qualify for appointment.
Other Areas
Other areas that have been contributing to the perennial tension we witness during election years come from the following:
The Political Parties
Political parties’ insistence on “Winning-at-all costs” to do away with the “Winner-takes-all” syndrome could be looked at very seriously. Like Sporting Clubs which take part in any sporting competitions, it is wondered if our political parties cannot consider forming an Association to regulate their behaviours activities outside the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC).
Such an Association with its own Leadership and Code of Ethics will regulate its members’ activities and utterances which will cater for unity in diversity and help reduce the “Winner-Takes-All” syndrome with conventions. Politicians in Ghana should be encouraged to display the quality of “Leadership by example” to be emulated by the people they struggle to rule over. They should be reminded of the national pledge “to be faithful and loyal to Ghana my Motherland”, thus placing Ghana “first” and keeping in their minds that we do not have any profession called “politics” for people to depend solely on it for survival which leads to the syndrome of “Winning-at-all Costs”. It is a social science with its own way of rewarding persons who are tolerant and can wait for their turn.
The Electoral Commission
The Commission itself can considerably reduce tension or escalate it by its own activities which should not create any doubts and suspicion among the electorates. The recent display at the IPAC confirms this point and should not be relented. Electoral offenders should not only be exposed but be promptly and publicly prosecuted in accordance with the law.
Election Observers
To ascertain the true quality of our “Free, Fair and Transparent” elections this year, it is recommended for the invitations to Local and International Election Observers to be sent immediately (if not already done) to come early to observe and comment on how the campaigns are being conducted and how the “referee(s”) i.e. (EC) and “the teams” (political parties) are conducting themselves for the “electoral soccer match” this year.
Security
The security agents and the judiciary too need to position themselves at vantage points to deal decisively, within short time, with any unfortunate and illegal circumstances, so that we can use the 2024 elections to demonstrate how truly Ghana can claim to be the most democratically mature nation and a role model on the continent of Africa.
By the Way
Is anybody monitoring the threat to peaceful co-existence being promoted in the social media between the Bono Regional House of Chiefs and Asanteman with its acrimonies and insults? Are the National House of Chiefs, the National Peace Council and the Ministry of Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs watching?”
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the Children of God” (Matthew 5:9)
The writer is the Registrar of Ghana Christian University College, Accra