The sea of humanity that turned out on Saturday afternoon in Tamale to protest the Electoral commission’s explicit intent to create a new voters register should be a wake-up call for the Addo administration.
A clear message was sent by the thousands who took to the principal streets of the metropolis to register their utter disgust with the EC. They telegraphed a succinct message; they are not going to take the shenanigans, the obfuscation, the ambiguities and half truths anymore.
The demonstration pointed to one important fact the government should not ignore; there is palpable anger with the Addo administration; Tamale is not the epic center of the resistance to the administration’s runaway wacky policies; the whole of Ghana is ground zero, the nerve center of resistance.
Around the country, people are freaking out because of harsh economic conditions and the government is making matters worse with its insistence on creating a new voters register, a wasteful project if there ever was one.
Now let’s be clear-eyed here; the opposition is clearly exploiting the situation to its political advantage; but then again what did we expect the opposition parties to do? Sit idly by as the administration runs roughshod over Ghanaians? Of course not.
The opposition saw a public policy that is at best ill-advised and at worse, detrimental to the national interest and they are wasting no time mounting resistance to the EC’s drive to plunge the nation into chaos.
Given all what is happening, the sudden turn of events, the EC’s stubbornness, the opposition steadfast resistance and the uneasiness and fear that have descended on the nation, it will be wise and prudent were the Addo administration to call in Ms. Jean Mensa and counsel her to drop the whole idea of a new voters register.
What is galling and very upsetting about the voters’ register is that Ms. Mensa is two-faced. She is an avowed hypocrite. What she is saying now runs counter to what she said when she was head of the IEA. She said then that there was absolutely no need to create a voters register in the same year that elections are going to be held.
What changed her mind, the sudden metamorphosis, the 360 degrees turn? Naked political ambition, that is. Ms. Mensa is determined to reward her political bosses for the job she has.
But I have this nagging feeling that the government is going to go ahead and defy the wishes of the people and create a new voters register. This move ultimately would be unwise, counterproductive and would create an atmosphere of uncertainty and doubt.
The country will be thrown into dangerous political territory and then what? This is the question the government should ask itself as it pretends as if Ghanaians are happy with the status quo and would sheepishly accept anything that is thrown at them. The old voters register can still be used and our elections will still be transparent, free and fair.
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