Posted: The Chronice Thursday, March 19, 2009
By Charles Takyi-Baodu
Barely three months after the 2008 General elections which virtually took the country to the brink of uncertainty, the man who is credited for holding Ghana in one piece, Dr. Kwadwo Afari-Gyan has come out to criticise the officers and men of the Ghana Police Service and the media for their actions and inactions during the election period.
He claims that the police failed to act on some instances of election-related violence and infractions of the country’s electoral laws during the election period.
Whatever the reasons for the inactions, Dr. Afari-Gyan noted that it was not good for the conduct of credible elections, taking into account the fact that it could easily cause a feeling of impunity.
For this reason, he has stressed the urgent need for the police to consider itself as a national institution, not beholden to any government or political party since according to him, “in all likelihood, no party or government will stay in power forever.”
He believes the actions of both the police and the media could have plunged the nation into chaos and has, therefore, called for steps to be taken to forestall such unwarranted incidents.
Dr. Afari-Gyan, who is the Chairman of the Electoral Commission made these observations at the ‘Kronti ne Akwamu’ lecture at the British Council hall in Accra, on Tuesday, under the theme -”The challenges to conducting free and fair elections in emerging African democracies: The case of Ghana.”
The forum which was the fifth in the series of the annual ‘Kronti ne Akwamu’ lectures organised by the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD) was Chaired by His Lordship Justice V.C.R.A.C Crabbe, a former Supreme Court judge Justice and Commissioner of the Electoral Commission of Ghana.
Turning the heat on the media, Dr. Afari Gyan said whilst appreciating the valuable contributions of some media houses for keeping the public abreast with various happenings in the country before and during the elections, others did not also do well as they embarked upon misreporting, peddling of lies and virtually inciting people to engage in disorderly behaviour.
“I think it is important for the media to be mindful that the fundamental human freedoms of association, movement, speech and choice are particularly on test, during election times”, he emphasised.
If for one reason or the other the media happen to have forgotten its role in an election period, the man who saved the country from going the way of Kenya and other war torn African countries, reminded the media that it has a responsibility to promote civilisation of these freedoms in times of election.
In finding solution to the challenges of conducting free and fair elections in emerging African democracies, especially in the case of Ghana, Dr. Afari-Gyan, who has over 16years of working experience as an election Administrator, and doubles as the Executive Secretary of the African Association of Election Authorities (AAEA) said “the ideal situation for achieving credible elections in Ghana and indeed anywhere in the emerging democracies in Africa will be where both the internal and external environment are right.”
Unless both environments are right, the Electoral Commissioner believes that “conducting a democratic election may be likened to dipping a piece of cloth in murky waters and hoping that it will not be stained.”
He therefore called on all stakeholders to help in finding a lasting solution to fashion ways to organise a truly free and fair elections in the country.
The ‘Kronti ne Akwamu’ lecture which began in March 2005 is the CDD’s flagship annual lecture on democracy and governance which is aimed at bridging the gap between reflection, research and analysis on one hand and pro-democracy and good governance advocacy on the other hand. It is also aimed an enriching the duality of public discourse on democratic and governance reforms.
The lectures feature prominent scholars and activists of local and international repute, whose work focus on building democracy and fostering good governance.
Each year, speakers are invited to share their knowledge and insights on these issues, with the hope of stimulating vibrant public debate.
The lecture has been dubbed ‘Kronti ne Akwamu’ after the Akan ‘adinkra’ symbol which according to the CDD, best represents democracy, duality of the essence of life and interdependence.
The symbol in itself encapsulates a system of decentralised political authority with different branches of government complementing, and also checking each other.
He claims that the police failed to act on some instances of election-related violence and infractions of the country’s electoral laws during the election period.
Whatever the reasons for the inactions, Dr. Afari-Gyan noted that it was not good for the conduct of credible elections, taking into account the fact that it could easily cause a feeling of impunity.
For this reason, he has stressed the urgent need for the police to consider itself as a national institution, not beholden to any government or political party since according to him, “in all likelihood, no party or government will stay in power forever.”He believes the actions of both the police and the media could have plunged the nation into chaos and has, therefore, called for steps to be taken to forestall such unwarranted incidents.
Dr. Afari-Gyan, who is the Chairman of the Electoral Commission made these observations at the ‘Kronti ne Akwamu’ lecture at the British Council hall in Accra, on Tuesday, under the theme -”The challenges to conducting free and fair elections in emerging African democracies: The case of Ghana.”
The forum which was the fifth in the series of the annual ‘Kronti ne Akwamu’ lectures organised by the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD) was Chaired by His Lordship Justice V.C.R.A.C Crabbe, a former Supreme Court judge Justice and Commissioner of the Electoral Commission of Ghana.
Turning the heat on the media, Dr. Afari Gyan said whilst appreciating the valuable contributions of some media houses for keeping the public abreast with various happenings in the country before and during the elections, others did not also do well as they embarked upon misreporting, peddling of lies and virtually inciting people to engage in disorderly behaviour.
“I think it is important for the media to be mindful that the fundamental human freedoms of association, movement, speech and choice are particularly on test, during election times”, he emphasised.
If for one reason or the other the media happen to have forgotten its role in an election period, the man who saved the country from going the way of Kenya and other war torn African countries, reminded the media that it has a responsibility to promote civilisation of these freedoms in times of election.
In finding solution to the challenges of conducting free and fair elections in emerging African democracies, especially in the case of Ghana, Dr. Afari-Gyan, who has over 16years of working experience as an election Administrator, and doubles as the Executive Secretary of the African Association of Election Authorities (AAEA) said “the ideal situation for achieving credible elections in Ghana and indeed anywhere in the emerging democracies in Africa will be where both the internal and external environment are right.”
Unless both environments are right, the Electoral Commissioner believes that “conducting a democratic election may be likened to dipping a piece of cloth in murky waters and hoping that it will not be stained.”
He therefore called on all stakeholders to help in finding a lasting solution to fashion ways to organise a truly free and fair elections in the country.
The ‘Kronti ne Akwamu’ lecture which began in March 2005 is the CDD’s flagship annual lecture on democracy and governance which is aimed at bridging the gap between reflection, research and analysis on one hand and pro-democracy and good governance advocacy on the other hand. It is also aimed an enriching the duality of public discourse on democratic and governance reforms.
The lectures feature prominent scholars and activists of local and international repute, whose work focus on building democracy and fostering good governance.
Each year, speakers are invited to share their knowledge and insights on these issues, with the hope of stimulating vibrant public debate.
The lecture has been dubbed ‘Kronti ne Akwamu’ after the Akan ‘adinkra’ symbol which according to the CDD, best represents democracy, duality of the essence of life and interdependence.
The symbol in itself encapsulates a system of decentralised political authority with different branches of government complementing, and also checking each other.