Ghana needs everybody
Today is the fifth day since the Chairman of the Electoral Commission (EC), Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, declared President John Mahama the winner of the December 7 elections.
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In any contest, winners have fans, while losers lose their support base because their fans experience the pain of the loss. And, as is to be expected, supporters of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) are jubilating across the country. Some of them sport white dresses, while others carry aloft banners of their party.
Reactions to the declaration of the results have been mixed, resulting in verbal and physical assaults on political party activists. We know that elections touch on the emotions of supporters of political parties and that sometimes it is difficult to accept defeat and move on in the spirit of sportsmanship.
Moreover, in our part of the world, winners of polls taunt the losers, thereby exacerbating the tension in the system.
We have had six elections since the adoption of multi-party democracy in 1992, but it seems our people still find it difficult to observe the rules of the game. That is to be appreciated in our body politic because of the phenomenon of winner takes all. Our Constitution gives so much power to the President in the appointment of people to public offices and that is why political parties try to win elections by all means.
Unfortunately, we tend to forget that nation building requires the collective effort of every Ghanaian, irrespective of his or her political affiliation.
The Daily Graphic recalls rather sadly that since 1992 our elections have been conducted in an atmosphere of tension and mistrust and, in the circumstances, the losers have always contested the outcome of the polls.
The Daily Graphic is equally concerned that a few days after the declaration of the results, sections of society feel that the verdict has been stolen and this has heightened the tension that had preceded the elections. We have reached the stage where men of goodwill must appeal to the leaders of our political parties to think of Ghana first and rein in their supporters to be of good behaviour
This is not the time for the winners to think of what they will get from the elections but what is good for the entire country. We can enjoy the benefits of the December 7 elections if we try hard to sustain the peace and stability of the country. Recommendations and messages of congratulations that have poured in from world leaders are an indication that the international community is watching Ghana. They expect Ghana to succeed once again to serve as a beacon of hope to the rest of Africa.
It is in this vein that we appeal to leaders of the political parties to listen to the appeal by the National Enforcement Body (NEB) of the 2012 Political Parties Code of Conduct.
The NEB has expressed concern over the prevailing tension that has characterised the declaration of the winner of the just-ended polls.
The level of tension in the country now is unnecessary; as it gives the wrong signals to the international community that something has gone amiss. We are not saying that if people are aggrieved, they should not seek redress. What we are saying is that the effort to seek redress must be carried out within the confines of the law.
And for that reason we urge all the political parties to restrain their supporters from taking the law into their own hands and thereby help reduce tension in the country.
If, for any reason, we scare Ghanaians from the streets or force them to stay away from their workplaces, that is likely to affect investor confidence in our country. We have come a long way in rebuilding confidence in our economy through our own hard work and donor support and nothing should be done to send Ghana along the path of confusion.
We urge the winners of the polls, particularly the President-elect, President Mahama, to embrace everybody in the task of nation-building. The world is watching and we cannot disappoint the international committee by allowing a few selfish individuals or groups to destabilise the country.