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For almost thirty years, Ghanaians have had reason to praise their country for being the most peaceful country in Africa, one of the indices we have used to evaluate ourselves and therefore rank our country as the most peaceful country. pacific of the subregion. holding peaceful elections. This is because we have always successfully and peacefully emerged from all the elections that we have held since 1992. Conversely, judging by the fact that most of the countries in the subregion are mired in violence and insecurity After the elections, use is made of this index of the Ghanaian sensible.
Since 1992, every successful general election held in the country has had its security challenges that we as a country overcome through the collective roles that we all play as citizens. Thus, regardless of the irregularities and the competitive nature of the election, the politicians and political parties that are the main actors have always done well to comply with the rules of the game, the Electoral Commission has also conducted all the elections held since 1992 in a manner Relatively Acceptably, security agencies, regardless of the small security issues that occur in most of our elections, have also been at the top of their game, other stakeholders have also done well in playing support roles for contribute to our enviable position, during and before the elections. since the beginning of the fourth republic.
Assessing the security threat of all the elections held from 1992 to the last of 2016, the 2000 and 2008 elections can be considered as the elections that have tended to jeopardize the country’s security efforts, but patriotism , the maturity and tolerance demonstrated by Ghanaians towards those elections helped us overcome the obstacles of 2000 and 2008.
The dynamics, expectations, and risks of each choice determine your security threats and challenges.
In 2000, the dynamic of the election was that -; the demand for political change was so high with a defeated opposition leader once fighting a vice president who was then the favorite ‘boy’ of a sitting president who had ruled under the military regime for 10 years and also democratically ruled president elected for 8 years. One of the fears of the Ghanaians before those elections was that we were afraid that the party in power would cede power to the opposition in case of losing the general elections, since they had controlled the country’s security apparatus for almost 20 years before. to that choice.
Although the demand for political change in 2000 was higher than it offers, the highly inclined opposition leader and party (Kuffour -NPP) failed to put a touch, it has to take a round and also a coalition with other opposition parties to win that. victory. The reason for this was that; Rawlings had led Ghana through his NDC party for 20 years and had gained ground in the social architecture of the country and thus made reversing that status quo a difficult mission.
The overwhelming vote in support of the Ghanaians’ change in the second round by (President Kuffour – PNP) solved all the security threats and challenges that were looming in that election in the sense that, the gap in the results was very wild and clear to anyone. to dispute it.
In 2008, the dynamics of that election was that; The main confrontation was between a former vice president (Atta Mills-NDC) a candidate who was competing for the third time after having lost twice in a row in the general election against the largest opposition candidate (President Akuffo Addo-NPP) a candidate who He had harbored a lifelong aspiration to become President of Ghana that was common knowledge and he was participating for the first time.
Although the stakes were high for both parties, NDC President Atta Mills had an unmatched interest in that election compared to then-candidate Akuffo Addo, as it became obvious that that election was the late President Atta-Mill’s last bet. , so he threw in all efforts to win.
The outcome of that particular election must be decided by a round and perhaps even a third round in the Tain constituency. The close call for the results of those general elections for President Atta Mills – NDC against President Akuffo Addo – NPP showed that the country was very divided, a phenomenon that led or gave rise to the political polarization that we have in the country today.
Ghanaians once again overcame the looming security threat in those general elections through the efforts of collective patriotism for peace and also the great political maturity shown by the two main contenders (the late Presidents Atta Mills and then-candidate Akuffo Addo ).
Election 2020:
I view the upcoming 2020 general election as the mother of all elections that we have had in Ghana and possibly we would have had them for a long time.
In my opinion, the next general election is about the following;
It is the first time that two presidents have competed: a sitting president and an immediate past president; Power is said to be “sweet,” by virtue of the fact that these two presidents have tasted power before and they know what it feels like to govern and clearly know that the opportunities in it outweigh the challenges that come with the presidency. Therefore, it is not surprising that the two main contenders in these general elections are eager to do everything humanly possible to retain power or regain power, and in the quest to win the elections the ways and means, the efforts , the commitment and sacrifices that are happening continue. beyond what we see, know, hear and think.
A battle between two Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces (the current Commander-in-Chief against the immediately previous Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces). The upcoming general elections are between two political rivals who have overseen the Ghanaian Armed Forces and have also spearheaded the national security apparatus. And so, by virtue of these positions, whether as commander-in-chief of the current or past Army or as head of the national security configuration, they have been able to create some constituents in the country’s security apparatus, it is not wrong or out of place. . To say that each candidate has half the security setup in the country and this has the propensity to compromise the loyalty of officers in our security institutions.
The acting president will appear 4th time on the ballot; the next context will be 4th Once in a row, the name and image of the current president will appear on the ballot, which is unprecedented in the history of his party (PNP) and perhaps in the politics of the country. After losing his first two contexts and winning the third, the president will take no chances at all as he will want to do everything he can to win his fourth context, an outcome that will neutralize his presidential context mark sheet as 50/50 and so on. both 2 losses. 2 wins in 4 contexts, a record that will be better than 3 losses 1 victory in 4 contexts. A defeat for the incumbent president will give his political opponent a chance to update a nickname they coined for Akuffo Addo after his 2012 defeat ‘twice defeated PNP presidential candidate’ which will be upgraded to become ‘PNP presidential candidate three times defeated ‘, to prevent this political label from happening, a victory is needed for the incumbent president. On the other hand, former President John Mahama will appear for the 3rd time on the ballot, it will be the third consecutive context for the former president against the same opponent, a defeat for the former president will qualify him to also be called a presidential candidate twice defeated a political label the former president also try to avoid. A victory for the former president will write and rewrite a lot of political history that will go beyond the country’s borders, something he will strive to achieve.
For the first time, two ECOWAS presidents are competing with each other (current ECOWAS president and a former ECOWAS president): the role of the ECOWAS presidency tested or handled by these two candidates has brought them many connections, networks and links in the subregion and beyond. By virtue of this presidential role, they have both been able to establish some strong diplomatic and international relations, providing them with some foreign assistance in support of their proposals.
Both candidates have been defeated before in previous elections: Both candidates have been lost and won in a previous election, everyone knows how painful it is to be defeated, and they also know how infuriating it is to be in the opposition. This makes the upcoming elections the grand finale of their political fight for which a victory will be an immortal joy that will be engraved in our politics for the winner and a loss will also be an eternal agony that will become perpetual in our political history. for the loser. It is for some of these reasons that these two strong contenders see choice more than life.
I must say that both candidates are approaching or perhaps in the late afternoon of their political life cycle in Ghana. The fact that the problems with the age factor and especially the selection of parties or nomination as flag procedures do not favor each candidate in his future political perspective, a defeat in these general elections means that there could not be a possible rebound, hence the need to avoid defeat at all costs.
When analyzing the above enumerations, the 2020 presidential election is not an ordinary election, it has no similarities with any general election held in this country and even in the sub-region. The sensitive nature of some of the information and intelligence about the elections prompts me to be in extreme control of what I have and intend to give in this article.
The outcome of the general election goes beyond what we think and see, as a country, we have peacefully in and out of several elections before, but the security challenges in this particular election are so conclusive and surprising that a non-overwhelming victory of the eventual winner could turn the country into chaos. Not surprisingly, President Akuffo Addo always pleads with his followers to vote for him “boom boom boom” in his various campaigns, because he is certainly aware that a victory with a minimal margin could cause innumerable challenges for the security of the country.
By rejecting the imminent threat to the security of this election: the peace council must improve, traditional rulers must refrain from unjustifiably endorsing the candidates, political actors (political parties, standard-bearers, members, leaders, parliamentary candidates) must commit to peace and refrain from sporadic loose talks on political platforms, security institutions have to commit to the constitution, citizens have to reprimand politicians who go politically astray and above all the referee of the game Electoral Commission must know what is at stake and weigh the implications, repercussions and ramifications of all that they have done and set out to do!
Peace is priceless!
Ernest D. Opare
Security and intelligence ingenuity.
