I am aware many people are boiling and filled with intense anger about the 2020 elections and the declaration of results.
It is trite knowledge that life, money, time and everything is invested in politics. The cost of putting political party campaign structures in place and campaigning across the country to convince eligible voters is no joke. Therefore, the pain of being convinced that an election outcome is “stolen “, not transparent and not in line with the rules governing elections in Ghana.
Rejecting election results is not undemocratic. It is not evil. It is not ordinarily against the peace of the country. It is rather a democratic choice if and only if it is built on facts, evidence and relates to violation of electoral laws.
There are people who genuinely think acceptance of election results even in the face of mass evidence of violations of the rules means one loves peace. Election is an aspect of democracy and its acceptance or rejection are integral parts of democracy. With this understanding, we will arrive at the conclusion that the NDC and John Mahama are only on one side of the democratic equation and Nana Akuffo Addo and NPP are on the other.
Data about the number of votes and the number of violations are important ingredients that determine election outcomes. Counting is aimed at achieving accuracy. Inaccurate figures from the election does not provide accuracy.
The level of inaccuracy, wrong computation and the frequency of varying results after open declaration is a serious disregard for the principle of accuracy. This undermines confidence in the declaration.
In declaring election results, it is required that the computation goes through vetting for accuracy and fairness . It is then validated by the various agents including political party agents.
The frequency of changes in the results means proper procedures were not followed. The question then is, have all the deputy Commissioners and eminent advisors validated the results?
If our understanding is whatever results are declared must be accepted if not so “go to court”, then we don’t love peace. Before you go to court one has the choice to explore all options before going to court. It is naivety to go to court without engaging the public who voted and explain to them why you reject the results and what steps to take. It is equally naive to underestimate the importance of the votes obtained by the NDC given the current results (over 6 million). Let us treat the reasons given seriously if not so we legitimize rigging of elections if and only if one can get the EC to declare then the rest is go to court.
In my custom and tradition, when two people are in dispute you must necessarily know the reasons to determine who is wrong so that a solution will then be determined.
Given the votes obtained by John Mahama, the rejection lowers confidence in the government and divide the country further.
By: Kate Abusah- Amanianpong
