Ghana’s EC Dr Afari Djan tells the world that

he’s Morally Corrupt After-all.

Dr Kwadwo Afari Djan, Ghana’s Electoral Commissioner has by his conduct eventually exposed himself as a morally inept and corrupt public official who cannot be trusted after-all. His affected stolid reputation as he seems to have established for himself, his seemingly unbending attitude as a public office holder is exposed as only epideictic and apparent. In his inner self, Dr Afari Djan does not after-all only have his Achilles’ heel, he has a soft heart towards the NDC as a doting favoured political party for which he would apply all technicalities to bend the rules if it would so benefit them. Even Rhadamanthus as in ancient Greek mythology, the god of the underworld who is believed to administer rigorous justice has some ambit within which some flexibility is allowed whereby people regain life and vitality after serious and severe illness. Wherein then does EC commissioner Dr Afari Djan manifest his weakness of purpose, his ineptitude, his bias and corruptibility as a public office holder of whom the highest level of reputed justiceship is required? Before analysing the above, incident to coming to this conclusion, let us consider this simple scenario and objectively assess where his conduct dovetails with his moral corruptibility and corrupt conduct.

Imagine going to a hospital or indeed any public building for some service where there is a notice to the public that the establishment closes at 17:00 hours GMT or its equivalent. In this scenario, the patient or customer enters the building before the stipulated closing hour and is accepted by the authorities therein who begin to work on whatever cause has occasioned the patient’s/customer’s presence in the building. At 17:00 hours GMT, all pens and tool are laid down with the reason that the establishment is closed so anybody whose matter is not seen to must vacate the building whence security is immediately deployed to push everybody out.

To use the expression unfair is understating rather it shows the low level justifying mentality of Afari Djan as a public office holder. His conduct towards the NDP, URP.IPP etc was gauche, otiose, awkward, crude, unprecedented, hopeless and indeed tantamount to displaying a comedy of errors far beyond reconciliation. Afari Djan must, as a public office holder of this magnitude hold himself out as a reasoning, rational and thinking human being and not to show out to be a robot. In this regard, is the EC telling Ghanaians and the world that he has always been punctual to exactitude without having ever made any error that has occasioned withdrawal of a document for correction or amendment for resubmitting before being accepted? As it is quoted in the Bible, ‘let him who is without sin throw the first stone’. Would Afari Djan take it kindly if he were ever told by any of his loved ones that a Doctor had refused treatment on them for time catching-up on the establishment whiles on the operating table or in the treatment queue within the building? It must be poignantly pointed out to Dr Afari Djan that he is treating his position and his office with sensational fantasy and must be prepared to receive sensational and fantastic responses that can disrespect and stain his office with opprobrium.

It may be recalled that the formation of break-away NDP as a proselytised wing of the NDC has dealt a deadly blow to the ailing and infirm ruling Party bedecked with corruption and non-performance scandals that has caused them to be desperately clutching even onto straw for stability. Afari Djan, by his Rhadamanthine conduct is telling Ghanaians and the world that ‘wishes indeed are horses’ that can be ridden on so the NDC’s wish that the NDP especially does not contest in the up-coming Presidential race can be injected with lifeblood and the required afflatus for the wish to function as they would want it to be. To make this obnoxious wish come true, a ‘ways and means’ policy has been applied by Afari Djan for the Electoral commission to commit the NDP into disqualification, a situation the NDC has cherished to welcome. Before Owusu Bempa arrived inside the EC building to submit the documents, a ridiculing disqualification plan had already been hatched between the Commissioner himself and the President John Dramani Mahamah. The electoral commissioner Kwadwo Afari Djan hereby becomes morally and occupationally corrupted because he is in bed with the NDC, a political party to which he owes so much allegiance and for whom he would do anything possible to augment their winning chances.

Afari Djan has authorised the registration of so-called students studying abroad on scholarship which hitherto he disagreed to do under the ROPAL under the NPP administration. The NDC is currently on death’s throes whereby it is not surprising to notice that Afari Djan personally has his heart in the coffin in which the Party whose predecessor-parent appointed him as Electoral commissioner is nailed down.

All said and done, whiles castigating the predator cat, a similar reprimand awaits the mouse. The Ghanaian culture of African time and lateness has very negative influence on all our activities. It is yet unknown when the punctuality ‘Messiah’ would come and deliver us from this our uncanny servitude to time-keeping and change for the better. Funny enough, some of our Ghanaian political parties have developed a superstitious belief in positioning on ballot papers as they link it with numerology. The NDC have always believed that being on top is significant to emerging first and winning one touch. The NPP won with ase?ho in 2000 but has since placed no particular importance on positioning however there is some axiomatic credence on either being on the top or bottom as a position of distinguished prominence such that even the least informed voter cannot miss with such slogans as ?soroho and ase?ho. These and other factors may cause political parties to voluntarily exercise delays which may turn out to be detrimental as in the current situation under attack. I believe that people with such thoughts and beliefs get their thinking wrong because whatever will be will be no matter where on the ballot paper a candidate may be positioned; winning depends not on numerical positioning but on credulity of message sent to the voters coupled with work done in campaigning.

Ghana’s EC has risen to prominence not because of what the institution per se has reasoned out and instituted but because there is the NPP that always calls for all the shots for electoral reform that are ratified into law for the commission. When in 1992 the PNDC used names only as qualifying criteria for voting, it took the NPP to call for photo identity in accompaniment in subsequent elections. It took the NPP to call transparent ballot boxes to replace the opaque boxes. The NPP asked for the colour photo identity, the biometric system and a lot more to our electoral reforms, all of which initially the NDC would oppose to before accepting with the end result that the EC takes the credit for their success. It therefore makes it incumbent on the good people of Ghana to make useful suggestions to the EC for absorption and ratification to further its misplaced recognition and approbation for their enjoyment otherwise the EC itself is in dearth of ideas. Parties must not sit aloof and gloat over NDP’s disqualification scandal for tomorrow it could be you falling victim to it.

Adreba Kwaku Abrefa Damoa, London UK