An election Petition refers to the procedure for challenging the result of a parliamentary election, it is in alliance with Article 64 (1) of the 1992 constitution which states that “the validity of the election of the President may be challenged only by a citizen of Ghana who may present a petition for the purpose to the supreme court within twenty-one days after the declaration of the result of the election in respect of which the petition is presented”.
Vote rigging is also an illegal interference with the process of an election, which affects the outcome of the election result either by increasing the vote share of a favored candidate or by canceling out the share of rival candidates or probably both.
Thus the two move hand in hand, whenever a candidate feels cheated on in an election the person is required to file a petition within 21 days.
Ghana as the emerging inspiration of democracy in Africa has experienced election petition twice as history may record, the first in 2012 between the biggest political parties in Ghana, which is the New Patriotic Party and the National Democratic Party. Again the result of the 2020 General election was not widely accepted by the NDC and this had led to the second election petition in Ghana.
It is undoubtedly perceived that after every national election there is an existence of vote-rigging, most people tend to question the result of the election because they doubt it was actually “free and fair” as we always say.
This is to say that there is absolutely nothing wrong with filing for an election petition, however, what is wrong is the constant doubt of election results which sometimes results in chaos and distraction in the country.
In Africa, vote rigging is a common issue attached to our political game, it is expectant that after every election the outcome tends to create unending confusion in the minds of both the electorates and the politicians.
It is quite funny that after voting we entrust a whole nation’s decision into the hands of an electoral commission but then again we refuse to trust and accept whatever they come out with.
Truthfully speaking, no political party will stay unguarded or turn a blind eye to any attempts of vote-rigging, and that is why whatever the situation maybe they are allowed to voice out as lawfully as the constitution demands.
The attachment of violence to vote to rig can be dangerous for a country like Ghana who has a lot of pressing issues and developmental projects to undertake.
This unhealthy habit will grow from bad to worse if nothing is done to dismantle it or at least curb it.
During the dissolving of the 7th parliament, Ghana saw what can be described as a terrible incident as people whom we have entrusted power to were seen on National Television fighting each other and causing a commotion in Parliament all because of the perception of vote-rigging in the 2020 Elections.
Ghana is one of the African Countries that is well known for its democracy, this to me is a bad name and publicity for the country.
Let’s a throwback to incidents that occurred after the verdict, last year after the results were declared by Jean Mensa, the NDC supporters who were unpleased with the outcome staged protest in some parts of the country.
The protests were held in Ashaiman and Ablekuma in the Greater Accra Region as the NDC members were in red attires. It didn’t just end there, on December 17, 2020 a group of NDC members once again massed up at the headquarters of the Electoral Commission to demonstrate against the election results.
There were several demonstrations held in other parts of the country as the supporters saw their protest as a way of expressing their displeasure with the verdict.
All I am trying to say is that Ghana needs to focus on important issues such as our economic and social issues and should not allow a mere perception to ruin the well-built integrity of the nation.
Elections may have their challenges and drawbacks but there are ways they can be resolved lawfully as it was and is done in 2012 and 2021 respectively, however, we must put efforts in erasing the perception that every national election was rigged to avoid chaos and conflicts in the country.
It may take a while to dismantle this perception, but if as a country, we work towards it then we can be our Messiahs.
