An Open Letter To Ghana’s Electoral Commissioner

An Open Letter To Ghana’s Electoral Commissioner Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan

Dear Dr Afari-Gyan,

Could you kindly unburden me by providing

answers to the following burning questions please?

Sir, I would first like to draw your

attention to events in late December 2008 when after the second round of voting

with no early declaration of a victor in the Presidential elections, members of

the NDC, were irresponsibly rallied through Radio Gold by top NDC honchos into

preparations to storm your offices to force your hand. Chaos was avoided

because the NPP Flagbearer conceded with the support of the outgoing president

Kufuor. Question: have you

not learnt the lesson that elections are emotive events with incalculable

outcomes such as nearly happened in Ghana,

and certainly happened in Kenya,

Ivory Coast and to a certain

extent in Nigeria?

It is said that the wise man learns from other people’s mistakes, but the fool

ignores such to his peril. In essence

therefore, Mr Electoral Commissioner, if you are mindful of delivering free,

fair and safe elections – as you ought to in 2012 - how then can you account

for the following?

1]Sir, it is trite to say that “a thing worth doing is worth doing

well”. To wit, how is it that you do not ascribe sufficient importance to being

accorded all the tools you require to deliver you mandate – a credible,

universally acceptable, free, fair and safe set of elections in 2012?

Otherwise, why would you say, as if it was an after thought, that “if

the money can be found”, you would provide verification to go with the planned

biometric registration

exercise! May I ask, Sir,

(a) whose call is it in deciding exactly what tools,

equipment and systems you, as

the designated Electoral Commissioner would need in order to deliver your

constitutional mandate? Else,

(b)

how could you make such a cursory statement in relation to a most integral part

of a viable biometric registration exercise, such as the verification element

of it?

(c) Why would it be the

decision of the

government whether they deem the additional expense in providing verification,

necessary or not? (d) Whilst studying and

arriving at the decision to introduce biometric voting to Ghana, how is it that

you failed to note that biometrics without verification is an incomplete and

wasted opportunity?

(e)

More pertinently, why are you

acting as if you are unaware that the developed Western democracies that wage

wars to remove despotic regimes and install fledgling democracies at enormous

domestic costs do have reserves to assist any developing country desirous of

strengthening

their democracy? In the UK

for instance, the Department for Foreign & International development [DFIP]

has budgeted funds for exactly such purposes. All you need to do is ASK!

Therefore, please spare us the excuse of whether the NDC government’s Finance

Minister deems the cost element of Verification affordable or

not!

(f) But if, against all odds you still

find excuses with costs, how about the

simple but effective suggestion of the NPP Chairman Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey that

you could RENT the abundant and redundant biometric equipment from

neighbouringNigeria at

minimal cost?! Abaaa!

2]Sir, it goes without saying, that as the Electoral Commissioner,

you are ultimately responsible for all that transpires within your department,

including the actions of officials working under you. Therefore Sir, how can

you explain your silence in the face of your head of Research at the EC being

not only at the NDC party Functional Executives’ strategic planning retreat on

1st Sept 2011, but is actually reported to have briefed the ruling

party executives on how to cheat the biometric technology? You will appreciate

that an excuse such as saying that any other party is at liberty to invite a

‘resource person’ from the EC to attend and brief them on the impending

exercise will not wash. You will appreciate that the EC Head of Research’s

attendance, and the level of his briefing, associated with his known political

allegiance [NDC], makes this ‘formal invite’ quite unlike an innocent and above

board one. Therefore, Sir, I dare say

that if you fail to rein in officials working under you in sensitive positions,

then you are deemed complicit and liable for their actions! At a time when the NPP,

the leading opposition

party - and by all accounts of successive opinion polls, the next party in

government - is leading a chorus of complaints against the non-inclusion of

verification to the process of biometric registration, it is downright blasé

and irresponsible for your Director of Research, Amadu Sulley, not only to

‘represent’ your department as a ‘resource person’ at an NDC Executives’ strategy

retreat, but contribute to the extent he did. It is arguably treasonable that

his brief centered on fudging the biometric register and how to render its

capability useless!

Perceptions as is oft said could be as real

as reality. Therefore, if Amadu Sulley went further to advice the NDC officials

not to back the verification element of biometrics and to lobby other smaller

parties to follow suit, does that not vindicate the PNC and NPP and others who

deem verification as indispensable to making the entire biometric exercise

worthwhile? That point made, Sir, is this not enough of a reason for you to

endeavor to appear honest, uncompromised, unintimidated by authority and above

board, and therefore adopt any and all means and measures, including

verification, in your bid to render a free fair and uncontroversial 2012

elections?

Carrying on with the theme of perception,

how does it appear that hither-to, apart from your department’s stance against

verification, that you equally inexplicably opt for sub-standard 2 mega-pixel cameras

rather than the international standard 10 mega pixel, and 500 dpi [dots per

inch] finger print capture equipment rather than the international standard

1200 dpi equipment for the biometric registration exercise?! All this

on top of the controversial manner of picking the shortlisted company to supply

the equipment against the spirit of the Public Procurement Act 2003 [Act 663]! I

think you and your department’s conduct

in all things biometric leave a trail of unanswered questions, a lot to be

desired, and certainly a festering problem and a looming blowout in the

future!! And this is not crying wolf! On the contrary, anyone dismissive of

this is rather playing the proverbial ostrich burying its head in the sand!

3]Sir, how do you view your relations with IPAC, the Inter Party

Advisory Council? The independence of your department not-withstanding, I

believe you recognize that you cannot hold your position in a vacuum, and for

that matter, you ought to have mutually respectable relations with the

political parties on whose behalf you conduct elections! Therefore, would you

not agree that it is untoward that you are ignoring the calls by major parties,

including the NPP and PNC for including verification whilst introducing

biometrics into our electoral system? After all, you are not holding the

registration and subsequent voting on your own behalf but on behalf, as

aforementioned, of these very same political parties! That is also why you were

out of order to instruct IPAC to only ‘observe but not ask questions’ in

relation to the biometric equipment you acquired, when you first convened IPAC.

4]Finally Sir, are you not alarmed that the NDC Functional

Executives’ election strategy meeting your Head of Research controversially

attended, adopted an election motor: “Victory By All Means -Do or Die!”? Surely, as

a citizen of Ghana yourself,

you are witness to the performances of the incumbent government as well as the

results of a series of opinion polls. It

is said that coming events cast their shadows. Therefore Sir, with the forgoing, it

is

incumbent upon you, indeed, it is imperative that you take preventive measures

NOW in order to prosecute the free, fair, uncontroversial and universally

acceptable 2012 elections. At this present time, the immediate elevation of the

verification element of the biometric exercise to make it inseparable from the

main, and steps to obtain the funding for it, is the one litmus test to your

desire to keep our beloved country Ghana safe after December

2012. Otherwise, leave well alone the

current flawed voting system until such time as your successor will properly

plan towards moving Ghana

to the era of biometric registration and voting. Half measures in this endeavor

are dangerous and must be avoided. Drink deep or taste not the Pierian Spring.

In

conclusion Sir, not that you need any education on

the merits of biometrics in elections, which is fundamentally to avoid multiple

registration and multiple voting. Therefore, it is quite inexplicable that any

party would need to belabourthe need for the EC of Ghana to make verification

integral to the

introduction of biometrics into our political life. Because, essentially what

is the use of a biometric register on election day when that cold list cannot

vouch that the potential voter presenting himself at a polling station is who

he says he is, especially not helped by the sub-standard camera pixels and

fingerprint identification equipment preferred by the Electoral Commission?

This would in effect turn out to be a waste of resource without eliminating voter

fraud, with the potential for electoral violence of hither-to unseen

proportions! Remember the NPP has

declared ‘All Die Be Die” as a declaration of intent not to meekly allow its

electoral fortunes to be fraudulently stolen from it. Equally, and in

counterpoint to the NPP’s stance, the NDC have declared “Victory By All Means -

Do or Die!” Do both of these declarations not bode ill and serve as a timely

warning that the one man and his department who can play a hand in ensuring

probity and, free and fair elections, is you and your Commission Sir?

Whilst I await your considered answers to

these burdensome questions, Sir, Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, Electoral Commissioner

of the Republic of Ghana, let it be declared here and now, that the immediate

post 2012 electoral future of Ghana, lies very much in your hands! Rein in your

sub-officers including David Kanga, your Deputy

responsible for Electoral Operations, and your Director of Research, Amadu

Sulley, and exhibit actions that demonstrate beyond any doubt, that you are

honourableand uncompromised. The 2012 elections would be your swan song.

Leave a legacy of peace and honourfor your several

years at the top of the conduct of Ghana’s elections. Play your

responsible part in delivering a free and fair 2012 elections and leave

responsibility of any other fall out to the party that precipitates it.

Otherwise Sir, on your head and that of your deputy, David Kanga lies any

AVOIDABLE conflagration post election 2012! A word to the wise is indeed

enough, Sir! Over to you.

Yours Sincerely,

Richard Dombo Diedong Esq.

Regards,

Eugene Antwi