Features
My humble opinion on election 2020 amid COVID-19
December 7, 2020, is a very important date in the governance processes in our country called Ghana. It is very important because it is the date for the election of members of the Legislature and the President and for that matter the Executive arm of government, in any election year.
The constitution makes that date sacrosanct and until what is enshrined in the constitution is changed, nothing can be done about it and, therefore, come rain or shine; elections must be conducted on December 7, 2020.
This, therefore, places an onerous responsibility on the Electoral Commission (EC), the government, civil society and all other stakeholders including the electorate.
Since the conduct of elections on December 7, this year is given, all stakeholders are faced with a serious challenge, in that we are not in normal times.
The COVID-19 has created an environment which makes the smooth running of the electoral process very problematic. In normal times, electoral processes have generated a lot of tension and there have been occasions where disturbances have occurred at registration centres.
Delays have resulted which had in the past created unnecessary tension in the country with political parties having a go at each other and at the EC.
Going into the elections some political parties are of the view that the decision of the EC to compile a new voters’ register is not necessary and that the EC must, therefore, quash that idea.
The ruling government on the other hand is of the view that the electoral register as currently constituted, is not credible since there is credible evidence that the cleaning ordered by the Supreme Court has not been effectively done.
Given this scenario, the only way out is for the EC which is the arbiter, to take its own decision and so it has decided to compile a new voters’ register and all stakeholders must support it(EC).
However, if we go along with the decision of the EC, a concern raised by those opposed to the compilation of a new voters’ register is brought into sharp focus.
Given the mode of infection of the COVID-19 virus, the issue of increase in the infection rate due to more people being brought together at the registration centres cannot be overlooked.
In the same vein, given our past experience of how passionate people are on the day of election, the possibility of a huge number of people being infected cannot be glossed over.
This brings us in a quandary as a nation and the phrase of the renown poet Shakespeare, in the book ‘Hamlet’ “to be or not to be, that is the question” aptly fits our current situation.
The devastation of economies and the havoc COVID-19 has wreaked on individual lives across the world is nothing to be toyed with. The consequences that further infection can wreak on the nation give cause for concern and so if that likelihood exists, then there is the need to look at various options to prevent its occurrence.
What must be noted is that any attempt to change the date of the election would require a change in the constitution to enable the EC to act accordingly without flouting any laws.
The first option available to the EC is to postpone the elections so that the concerns of those opposed to the compilation of a new voters’ register based on the view that there is the likelihood of the spread of COVID-19 can be addressed.
In order to be able to do this, the constitution has to be amended to give the EC the power and the lawful authority to execute same. When the elections are postponed, there must be amendment of other provisions to prevent a vacuum being created because under the current constitution, the term of the president expires after midnight of January 6, 2021.
Postponing the election, therefore, would have to be looked at in terms of the feasibility of amending the constitution within the next five months to prevent a constitutional crisis.
Former President Kuffour started a discussion on the term of office of presidents being revised upwards to at least five years instead of the current four years.
Currently, that idea is gaining momentum and there have been talks about amending the term of office of the president and maybe this COVID-19 and the challenges of the compilation of a new register, provides us with an opportunity to amend the constitution to facilitate the implementation of this idea. This would definitely help in reducing expenditure on elections which also affects the inflation rate especially during an election year which ultimately affects the quality of life of the larger populace.
The EC has an opportunity to make a strong case to Parliament and the Judiciary as well as the Executive that it needs time to conduct COVID-19 risk free elections and ask for a stakeholders’ discussion on the issues involved in such a decision.
Another issue raised by those who are advocating abolition of the idea of a compilation of a new register is cost that would be incurred compared with the use of the current register.
The use of the current voters’ register would definitely reduce the expenditure on elections but the EC would still have to conduct limited registration. The limited registration would involve people queuing to go through registration process and the risk of infection would be present although at a reduced level.
The thing is that one life lost through COVID-19 is one too many and, therefore, if there is the risk of infection in the conduct of registration, then we must as well postpone it altogether.
Those who are claiming that it is unnecessary for a compilation of a new voters’ register and that only limited registration is required, has a point, but they should realise that it would also provide a risk of infection although on a limited scale compared with a mass compilation.
Whether limited or mass, the risk of infection on Election Day, is still awaiting us and it is time we all examined the issue and took a decision that would be beneficial to all of us. The only time the risk of infection would be absent is when a vaccine for the disease is found.
I hope that those who are using the argument of the risk of COVID-19 infection would agree to the amendment of the constitution to extend the term of office for the president since it is envisaged that the earliest time a vaccine could be obtained is towards the end of 2021.
In order to resolve the disagreements among the political parties regarding the credibility of the voters’ register, the only way out is for a collaboration between the EC and the NIA so that the Commission can compile its register by selecting those who are 18 and above and are Ghanaians and are of sound mind. There would be no more arguments about the register and the cost of compilation would be minimal not to mention the absence of political tension.
Given the time left between now and the elections, this collaboration would have to be done in future and so all of us either support the EC to carry out a compilation of a new register or postpone the elections by amending the constitution.
Laud Kissi-Mensah
MY bosom friend Kofi Kokotako once told me that a person’s haircut portrays his character. I disagreed with him and said a person’s character portrays his haircut. All in all, we agreed between us that a presidential aspirant whose haircut is excessively punk cannot win even a unit committee election, much more a castle-bound one.
One thing I hated as a kid was getting my hair barbered because I never had the style I wanted. Usually, it was my father who was the tormentor-in-chief, and he chose the kind of design that would suit the shape and nature of my head and that of my elder brother Christian, whose name is more civilised than mine.
When we were through, we looked quite different from the other kids. I didn’t know where my Pop learnt that kind of style but I realised it was very colonial in form and outlook and I became sad when the girls giggled at my design.
Actually, it was something resembling a half-bow with a line cut through at about 38 degrees to the perpendicular. After the ordeal we looked half like the resident catechist and half like a fierce Regimental Sergeant-Major.
When I told my daddy that I had had enough of the ancient cut and wanted an Afro or at least a Tokyo Joe, he quickly explained that Tokyo Joe was for ruffians and that his style was tailor-made for aspiring doctors, lawyers, engineers and great states-men. He didn’t mention journalists though.
So I went and told the giggling girls that my hairdo was a magical one that was going to transform me into a doctor whether they liked it or not. I added that their brothers who had modern haircuts invariably were going to be labourers and tangas (town council). They laughed at me even the more.
They referred me to the conservancy labourer not far away who always wore my kind of cut and asked me why he wasn’t wearing a white gown with a stethoscope hanging from his neck, if that kind of haircut was indeed miracle-performing!
My Dad was quite scrupulous and dished us the haircut in its hardest form just before Palm Sunday. It helped boost our religious conviction and the Holy Spirit almost descended and settled on our wonderful heads.
At Sunday school one Palm Sunday, the lady teacher asked me to stand so that she could admire my hairdo. I was quite flattered and happy that I was the centre of attraction on a great occasion like Palm Sunday. So I quickly stood up and turned round like a model for all to see and envy my design.
It was when the teacher asked me whether my daddy was a policeman that I lost heart. At the mention of policeman, everybody started laughing and I concluded that the teacher wasn’t admiring my head after all. All she wanted to do was to predict my daddy’s occupation using my head as a determinant. I wasn’t pleased with the attempt.
Today whenever it is getting to Palm Sunday 1 remember the incident. And actually I have always enjoyed Palm Sunday because deep within me, I’m a very religious person and I believe that once God will judge us by the purity of our hearts and not the bottles of beer we quaff, I shall also be in heaven together with Korkorti.
Now if you observe properly, you’d realise it is those who are not believers who celebrate Easter to the fullest. They understand the real meaning of Palm Sunday because they equate it to the birthday of palm wine. They actually mourn the death of Christ and rejoice at his resurrection using palm in the form of wine.
Palm Sunday is best marked in the rural areas where palm wine is always available from dawn to dusk and vice versa. Normally, people start Palm Sunday at exactly 4.15 am when the freshly-tapped wine starts arriving. But you have to begin slowly otherwise you’d be in coma before the sun rises.
Easter is due again and this time as usual, the action is right in the countryside. Kwahu is going to shake, Tapa Abotoase will somersault and Peki would explode. All over the world, these three Sikaman towns are ranked as places where Easter is best celebrated with a hangover assured.
People from Britain, Germany and Holland come down either to Obo Kwahu or Avetile Peki to celebrate Easter. They never miss it. It is a yearly ritual. They save towards the occasion.
So during the celebrations, people from all over the country also converge on these places and the celebrants compare haircuts and note carefully those who have grown lean and those who are neither growing lean or growing fat.
In fact, people assess their fellow human beings to ascertain whether they are becoming prosperous or are chewing grass. News is also brought from all over the globe and those from Germany (Jaaamani) are the loudest. The way they talk, you would never know they are cleaning the whiteman’s toilet to make some dough. You’ll think they are Managing Directors of a multinational corporation in Dusseldof. Such is life.
It is during church service on Easter Sunday that the been-tos and the locals alike display whatever they have under their sleeves. The gentlemen are often resplendent in suits and black shining pairs of shoes, and the way they walk can be a clue as to where they are sojourning. With seamen for instance, it can be quite psychedelic. It is a real sight to behold especially if they hail from Kromanti, Moree or Abandze.
With the ladies, the spectacle is breathtaking. It is unbelievable! You can’t comprehend it using the human senses. You have to employ spiritual means. The kaba styles are of different kinds, styles, colour and combination of colours. Some of the styles are complemented with wings and when the lady wearing it is hurrying to “chapel” you’ll think she is actually airborne. She is practically a human vulture.
Then comes the picnic sessions which are normally well-attended by gate crashers, mental patients and political strategists who are also well-versed with what is going on between Kwame Pianim and kukrudu. So they brief their listeners and prophesy the outcome of court cases and election results. In exchange, they are well-fed, well-boozed and all.
But things do not happen only during the day time. At night, the devil usually takes over. Friendships are entered into, old girlfriends are re-baptised and there is love and romance.
By Easter Monday, marriages are broken, new marriages contracted, girlfriends are jilted and pregnancies are on the way awaiting abortion. Every year it happens, and this year it is going to happen again. The death and resurrection of the Lord will really be marked in both righteous and evil ways.
Perhaps, this is not how Judas intended it to be celebrated. Judas was the architect of the Holy Friday coup d’état against the Son of Man.
This article was first published on Saturday March 30, 1996
The Ghanaian community in Finland on Saturday, March 14, 2026, celebrated Ghana’s 69th independence anniversary in an impressive event in Helsinki, the capital city of Finland.
The event was organised by the Ghana Union Finland (GUF), an association of Ghanaian migrants in Finland. It was an occasion well attended by many people from the Ghanaian community in Finland, Finns and other nationalities.
The occasion was graced by the Special Guest, Her Excellency Abigail Naa Adzoko Kwashi, the Ambassador of Ghana to Norway with concurrent accreditation to Finland and Iceland. In her speech, the Ambassador encouraged Ghanaians living in Finland to pursue unity, actively participate in, and support the Ghana Union Finland to build a stronger body better positioned to advocate for its interests and goals.
Also present at the event was the Honorary Consul of Ghana in Finland, Mrs Kati Kivisaari, who has replaced the retired Ms Ulla Alanko. Mrs Kivisaari urged Ghanaians in Finland to remain good ambassadors of Ghana in their lives in Finland.
The event saw the inauguration of new executive members of the Ghana Union Finland. The team was inducted by Elder Samuel Anini, Patron of the Ghana Union Finland.
Earlier, a “royal entry” was performed by leaders of the Asanteman Finland and Mfantseman Kuw and other personalities in their colourful kente attire adorned with ornaments, amidst traditional music and adowa dance to usher in the Ambassador.
Unity and harmony
I see such events, especially the ones marking independence anniversaries, as ample display of unity and harmony in the Ghanaian migrant community as well as in the larger Ghana and Finland relations.
Some personalities present at the event were Nana Ekuoba Gyasi Gyimah and other leaders of Asanteman Finland, Mfantseman Kuw Finland, as well as representatives of other Ghanaian ethnic groups.
It was a very colourful occasion with dance and other performances such as poetry recitals. The audience was also treated to tasty Ghanaian dishes such as jollof rice, fried yam, and soft drinks.
For me personally, whenever I think about Ghana’s Independence Day anniversary every 6th of March, my mind also goes to Finland’s own day on 6th of December. The two dates always give me such a special, positive feeling. As soon as one of the dates ends, I begin a countdown to the other (next) date.
Last year on December 6, 2025, when Finland celebrated its 108th independence anniversary and I participated in two events marking the celebration in Helsinki, I started looking forward to Ghana’s 69th anniversary this year. Now that Ghana’s anniversary is over, I am looking forward to Finland’s 109th anniversary on December 6, 2026. That’s the beauty of it all for me.
Ensuring integration
What I see in all this, especially for Ghanaian migrants in Finland, is the chance for members of the Ghanaian diaspora in Finland to integrate into the Finnish society through such celebrations that are marked by social activities, affiliations and ideas of inclusion.
Inclusion is key to integration, and the two ideas undoubtedly build a sense of belonging. As I previously wrote, Finland sees the role of migrant associations as bridge-builders for the integration and inclusion of migrants through participation in the decision making process and by acting as a representative voice, which is highly appreciated in Finland.
As I keep pointing out, Finland encourages migrants’ participation in the planning of issues concerning the migrants themselves, using such a strategy as one of the efficient ways to improve their inclusion.
Thus, there is an enabling environment created within the Finnish cultural ecology that undoubtedly helps migrants to integrate into the host Finnish society. Thank you!
By Perpetual Crentsil
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