Can ‘Edebee keke’ Stand the Test of Time?

The Kumbungu bye election has been fought and lost by the NDC. The Kumbungu constituency has been as safe a seat for the NDC since 1992 as it has been a stronghold for them. Hon Mohamed Mumuni won the seat on NDC ticket, polling 18,285 votes in his favour, representing 56.57%. Out of a supposed total valid votes cast of 33,324, Hon Amadu Moses Yahaya, contesting in December 2012 on CPP ticket won 4,134 votes, representing a megre 12.79% on comparative basis to that of the winner. Hon Amadu Moses Yahaya of the CPP, a supposed under dog in this by-election, just four months after losing to NDC huge majority rather emerged elected for the

NDC assign excusable reasons for everything including untenable flagrant acts and conduct. Amongst factors outlined by the propaganda-infested Party, blame is attributed to complacency and low turnout. There appear however to be more to that has nothing to do with complacency as alleged. In as much as there was low turnout, those who felt the need, importance, time and trouble to vote in fact voted with intent to either retain an already won seat or win it for their representing candidate however those who felt no need and attached no importance to it literally opted out of contesting it at-all, so did their supporters. Therefore it was necessary for NDC who needed a retention of the seat to maintain their numbers in parliament by not abstaining from voting in this bye election. I can say with certainty that Mohamed Mumuni’s image and personality were no factors that won the seat for the NDC in December, rather it was Electoral Commission’s gross dishonesty factor. In effect, there is also an NPP supporters abstenance factor which saw over 8,500 voters who were apathetic to the event. Complacency as enshrined in edebee keke slogan has existed throughout the December event that apparently won them the seat plus the Presidency, so it cannot take any blame this time when there is a loss. The impudent slogan that has insulted voters’ mentality in regard to what is transpiring in Ghana under NDC post-2012 elections has been unravelled. There is a clear premonition that NDC and its edebee keke slogan have already crumbled and falling apart but only seemingly held together by weak threads of propaganda in seeming resilience.

Edebee keke featured as an ‘apparently formidable’ NDC campaign slogan in the Decembser 2012 general and Presidential elections, the results of which is vigorously being contested before the Supreme Court of Ghana. Similar electoral disputed cases are being heard in several High Courts across Ghana involving members of Parliament who are challenged to have cheated their way to Parliament.

Whereas some Parties were promising free education up to SHS level, plausible promises like investing heavily in agriculture with a view to processing and exporting surpluses, improved living standards and conditions for the avarage Ghanaian, not forgeting comical and preposterous out of sense outrageous promise such as brain drain, unmindful of its effect likely to rid the country of its intellectual workforce, the NDC rubished opponents’ campaign as mere charygma followed with a mocking chant of edebeeee keke, best done with a twisted lower jaw in a throaty chant introduced by their leader.

As to why a leader of a political Party, vying to be elected substantive President of Ghana would advise his Party supporters to chant a Party slogan with a rude contemptuous mocking wry mouth remains condemned as stupid, unthinkably childish and very unbecoming of a supposed statesman. Ordinarily, children would get smacked by parents and elders if they remonstrate instances of rudeness such as tongue wiggling, eyes squeezing as expressions of insult, mockery and contempt. In many cases, even amongst their own peers, such human expressions by children are met with anger and disgust occasioning scuffles and fighting yet John Dramani Mahama ignored all such conotations and chose rudeness as a fitting salutation for the Ghanaian electorate whose votes he cherished to gather to be elected President.

In my personal reasonable opinion, and in the opinion of most reasonable discerning people, for any person to pride him/herself in rudeness and persist in it, that person must have a strong reliant basis. John Mahama and his NDC knew that the votes to be cast on polling day didn’t matter to them because, in the words of Asiedu Nkatia, they had found the winning formula. To them, campaigning was just a matter of formality; mere window-dressing, a show to the world that they were working hard to merit victory which to them was a done deal. The huge expensive billboards, T-shirts, radio and television adverts, fliers, posters etc meant nothing to them; thereforethere was no reason for them to waste their mind and imagination to formulate any cogent election message to engross voters. Actual votes cast for NDC parliamentary and Presidential candidates did not matter because the winning formula was alive for action on the D-day. Today, truth in reality is emerging to crush manipulated falsehood as manifested in the results of three bye elections.

Election 2012 came about and true to their word, John Mahama and the NDC won but not without a raised red flag by a section of their opponents. Today the Electoral Commission and John Mahama are dragged to the Supreme Court to respond to electoral irregularities, joined by the NDC as adscititious expletive respondents. Nine eminent Judges of the Supreme Court are empanelled to sit and hear the matter before the Court and be able to decide if indeed there were electoral malpractices involving various wilful infractions in commissions and omissions on the part of the Electoral Commission and its ad-hoc appointed polling station and constituency returning officers whereby the Chairman of the Commission. Though the second respondent, remains the principal respondent in this matter whose testimony matters most in arriving at any decision by the Court, the Court’s decision will be determinable by a whole range of factors including evidence adduced to support the petitioners’ claim, rebuttals by respondents with supported documental evidence, whether infractions as enumerated occurred with evidence and matching refutations by respondents to the contrary backed with evidence etc. Testifying on oath, all instances of inconsistencies as will surely be exposed, if any, by xcross-examination of witnesses will be vital and in fact damaging even if truthful evidence is overwhelming, not-withstanding the fact that in the Supreme Court on this matter, to win your case, it is all about veritable evidence. Conquest in this battle at the Supreme Court is clearly neither a matter of might, nor is it a matter of extrorse rubicund mouth shouting in intimidation, it is clearly a matter of necessity and ability to prove a case or respondents’ cogent rebuttals as required by law.

In the final alalysis, depending on how our learned eminent judges empanelled at the Supreme Court balance the pros and cons of the debate, if they find a gray area which may necessitate a rerun of the presidential election, a time frame may be alloted and parties would have the opportunity once again to canvass for votes. If it so happens, NDC and NPP flags would once again be seen waving amid shouting Party slogans as usual. It can be imagined that Free Education would resurface and feature prominently plus others yet to be coined and framed from NDC few months in office post-2012 election failures in support of Nana Addo. Eshie radorado would also be resonating in the minds of many with a sort of following and enthusiasm as has never been seen before.

On the other hand, it appears Edebee keke has of late received a huge scorn following the apparent truth in its ordinary interpretation that has come to be manifested. These range from unjustified 120% pay increase for the President in retrospect to 2009 to imported Cuban ‘butchers’. There has emerged a new formulated greetings such as ‘mema wo dumsoo’ with a response as ‘yaa Mahamaoo’; a newly composed version of twi anthem that has various Ghana-based linguistic versions as in ‘yen ara yen asase ni yaton ama Chinafo, ....’. An attempt at mentioning all areas of debacle in the administration that was ushered in by the slogan edebee keke can fill a whole page in this discussion. These obloquies weigh heavily on the neck of NDC and its one time spell-bound slogan edebee keke; so weighty that it can hardly lift its neck to face the people. The question that hangs on my lips is that, as surely as edebee keke became the supposed enchanting slogan that won the election for John Mahama, and also as surely as Ghanaians are living witnesses to John Mahama and NDC failures culminating in harsh harships country-wide, can edebee keke suddenly lose its taste and glamour? I pray it doesn’t and resurfaces as a campaign slogan in the worst case scenario of a reelection to elect Ghana’s President.

Adreba Kwaku Abrefa Damoa; (London, UK)