Any Party can rig elections - Dr. Aggrey Darko

A Political Science Lecturer at the University of Ghana, Dr. Evans Aggrey Darko says any political party can rig an election in Ghana because Ghanaians are not angels and must not be trusted in this regard.

According to him, the benefit of rigging an election is power and all political parties in Ghana are yearning to form the new government in 2017.

“In the unlikely event that the citizenry are made angels, they may not be fit to stay on earth, and that’s why as humans, they will try to circumvent the process in their favour,” he observed.

Responding to claims by the Flagbearer of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) Nana Addo Dankwah Akufo-Addo that the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) will rig the 2016 elections, he said any party if given the opportunity will do same.

Dr. Darko, who subscribes to calls for a new voters register, suggests that political parties should train their polling station agents and be wary of their opponents infiltrating their ranks as a way of putting in checks and balances to safeguard the integrity of the register.

“There are two main types of democracies, procedural and substantive democracies,” he disclosed.

He explained that the procedural democracies set the pace for the substantive, and if the procedures are not correct, the outcome may not also be right; reason for which the NPP flagbearer may be accusing the ruling party of attempts to rig the 2016 elections.

The senior lecturer advised that the country, especially the Electoral Commission (EC), build checks and balances in the system to ensure that the outcome of the elections is credible and would be accepted by the participating parties.