2016 Election in perspective
The 2016 Election has been described by the various international organisations and foreign and domestic observers as transparent, credible and largely peaceful. No major incidents of violence or intimidation was recorded. Eligible voters were not hindered to cast their votes and the atmosphere at the polling stations was generally peaceful. Electoral materials were available in adequate quantities and the biometric voter verification machines were in good condition. In sum, the 2016 election will go down in history as well-conducted polls worthy of commendation to all stakeholders, particularly to the Electoral Commission (EC) for living up to expectation.
Advertisement
What were rather disturbing were developments hours after the election which created unnecessary tension and could potentially have undermined the peace and security in the country. Thanks to the National Peace Council and the Electoral Observers for their timely intervention in calling on the two main political parties
The NDC also called a counter-press conference to denounce the NPP press conference and described it not only as irresponsible and reckless, but a treasonable act purported to undermine the peace and security of the country. According to the NDC, it had done the analysis and President Mahama was leading. Earlier, Sammy Awuku, the National Youth Organiser of NPP, had raised suspicion in a press conference and warned the EC that his party would not accept ‘massaged results’. These developments compelled the EC to come out and advise Ghanaians to wait for the official results from the EC and dismiss the purported results from the two main political parties.
Happily, the dust has now settled and Nana Akufo-Addo has been declared winner of the 2016 presidential election by the chairperson of the EC who is the returning officer for the presidential election.
Reactions
The declaration was greeted with different reaction by the victor (NPP) and the vanquished (NDC). While NDC supporters received the outcome with shock, sadness, anger, confusion and disappointment, especially when the party had in a press conference assured them to remain calm and that the President was leading, the NPP supporters went wild with jubilation and euphoria.
Nana Akufo-Addo, the President-elect, however, urged the NPP supporters to be magnanimous in their celebration. The reported cases of partisan animosity, rising resentment and alleged attacks on NDC supporters and the vandalisation of state property must be condemned and the security agencies must act swiftly to deal with the seeming threats to our peace. The rule of law must be enforced and those who violate the law held accountable and dealt with fairly and consistently.
In an electoral contest, a lot of passion, energy and time is invested in the campaign and, therefore, a loss will naturally be painful. This is more so when the NDC had worked so hard and campaigned as if they were in opposition. President Mahama’s strained voice and body language as he delivered his concession speech clearly showed he was very disappointed.It is my fervent hope that he will quickly overcome the painful experience. As a leader, his actions will go a long way to assuage the pain of his teaming supporters.Time, they say, heals and so we believe the losing party will overcome this in no time.
Facing reality
The only benefit of losing an election comes from confronting what really happened and learning from it in order not to repeat the same mistakes. It is only through defeat that we can begin to think outside the box and have pivotal insights and new perspective of the realities.
The NDC’s campaign message was touting of its achievement, especially in infrastructural development which the party described as massive and unprecedented within the four-year period. The party claimed it had laid the foundations for economic takeoff and the country was on the verge of exponential economic growth which was manifesting in the growing of the economy; the deficit was coming down; the currency had stabilised; inflation and interest rates were also coming down. It also maintained that it had ensured national security, peace and stability.
Notwithstanding the huge achievement in infrastructure development, the reality on the ground, the feelings and sentiments of ordinary Ghanaians who were in the majority and who were going to cast their votes were that they found their conditions increasingly intolerable. The soaring unemployment, significant increases in fuel and utility tariffs, and the high cost of living had placed a lot of Ghanaians in hardships as some people could not afford two square meals a day. What is the direct benefit of roads, health facilities, schools and ‘Dubai’ interchanges to the ordinary Ghanaian and the unemployed graduate if their living conditions were unbearable and they lacked the means to satisfy their basic needs.
The three-year electricity crisis which led to ‘dumsor’ and widespread blackouts which affected businesses and some people losing their jobs was still fresh in the minds of some of the people who voted against the NDC.
The economy is seen to be facing major challenges looking at the macro and micro economic indicators such as inflation, interest rates and utility prices which are high.
Corruption
The party’s inability to demonstrate positive commitment to deal with perceived corruption angered the people. Martin Amidu’s call on the Ghanaian electorate to vote out President Mahama since he lacked the will power to get corrupt people prosecuted was taken seriously despite the party’s claim that it would not affect its chances of winning the election.
Another issue which affected the NDC negatively was the scrapping of allowances for teacher and nurse trainees. The President was reported to have emphatically maintained that he would rather lose the 2016 presidential election than to restore the allowances. However, in October, 2016, he announced that new trainee nurses who were not on students’ loan scheme were to be put on the cancelled nurses allowance scheme. The nurses saw this as double standards and of bad faith just for political gain.
The other major blow to the party was losing candidates in the primaries contesting as independent candidates and the party’s inability to resolve the differences.
Inaugurating uncompleted projects angered some of the voters, since they did not see the need for the rush to compromise on work quality.
Even though the NPP’s ‘one district one factory’ promise was sharply dismissed by the NDC as herculean and almost impossible and just building castles in the air, yet a lot of people bought into it and saw it as feasible which could create job opportunities for unemployed Ghanaians and impact positively their lives. Some of the electorate also believed the free Senior High School (SHS) education promises could be fulfilled.
It is the view of the writer that the NDC lost the election because it failed to strategically address the expectations and pressing needs of the electorate.
The lesson to the political parties is that the Ghanaian electorate is wised-up and becoming discerning and, therefore, cannot be taken for granted.