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Opinions of Tuesday, 15 March 2016

Columnist: Abdallah Abdul Matin

2016 Elections, Ghana at a crossroads; will she triumph or stumble?

Governance in any jurisdiction is an indispensable enterprise on which high premium is placed. Governance provides a sense of direction and unity of purpose, policy formulation, and management et al. It is on this premise that Thomas Hobbes, a British philosopher postulates that "man's life without government would be nasty, poor, brutish and short".

If we should take Hobbes for his words how much more the process-election which gives the frontrunners the passport to occupy the corridors of power.

Ghana, in our context, is popular in the international community for her overflowing democratic credentials, consummate peace, and freedom. This feather in her cap certainly did not come on a silver platter.The road to this pseudonym-citadel of democracy in Africa was bumpy, rough, full of potholes and sometimes life threatening.

As if a dream, Ghana has yet again cruise to a milestone in her democratic safari where Ghana's democracy is admitted in the lab to undergo another acid test. It, therefore, begs the question as to whether she will triumph or stumble or perform so-so.

Ghana's election being a stone throw away has left Ghanaians on tenterhooks and uncertain of what prominence holds for them-normalcy or turmoil. Must we always be bitten by this merry-go-round bug that at every election national atmosphere becomes tensed up?

Ghana's political atmosphere more so in election year is poisoned with venomous and provocative language, unprintable and derogatory comments. The political actors must pull breaks on this dog eat dog or do or die affair for peace to reign.

Ghana is not for an individual.

Political actors must do a self-introspection and mend their ways. The media political parties and the institutions all alike should kowtow to the latter the laws of the land.The media- the fourth estate- should sanitize their airwaves by submitting to the provisions of newly promulgated content law(LI2224).

The institution, in this the national media commission and other stakeholders should supervise earnestly the media and crack the whip whenever an unpardonable infraction is occasioned without fear or favour to purge the media of unethical conduct.

The independence and neutrality of the electoral management body is a manure for consolidating our democracy and a guarantee of peaceful elections.

The Electoral Commission and staff alike should not conduct itself in a fashion that can breed a scintilla of ground for an individual to suspect the body of being on the bandwagon of one political fraternity. The of the Electoral Commission is clear cut in the constitution of the Republic of Ghana (Article 46) and the Electoral Commission must do just that.

The security apparatus has the responsibility to immune Ghana from pockets of squabbles which has the propensity to degenerate into something else. The security institution must not renege on the same.The security apparatus must not rest its oars to ensure that the tranquility of the state sustains and blossoms before, during and after the election.

The electorates though pregnant with desperate sentiments to see their various political parties carry the day should also carry themselves civilly.We are living testimonies to the electoral fanned upheavals in our subregion which claimed the precious lives of dozens and led to property loss.Ghana cannot afford to in that despicable trajectory.

The rivalry for political power does not mean a fight of insults, violence or innuendoes but it is a fight of ideas, ideologies, competence and capacity to do the job.Ghana is bigger than any other individual, group of people or political party.

Let us remain calm and vote civilly come November 7 and emerge more united and stronger than ever before. In that way, we collectively chart a better path to our promised land.

It goes without saying that the independence brochure gaffe that rocked the entire nation and cast Ghana in the light of international ridicule is shameful and for that matter condemnable.

This diplomatic faux pas mirrors the crescendo assumed mismanagement and irresponsibility of government.There is more to this blunder than meet the eye.

Governance is a serious business, and anyone who seeks to make otherwise must taste the bitter pills of the law.Never again should we allow some spoonful stomach policies to subject the entire nation to ridicule and a status of nincompoops.

God bless our homeland Ghana!!!