The Dean of Academic Affairs at the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College (GAFCSC), Dr Vladimir Antwi-Danso, has said that he sees nothing wrong with EC’s decision to compile a new voters register.
He believes the commission is not obliged to listen to Ghanaians but rather to inform the populace on decisions they make.
Dr. Antwi-Danso, in an interview with Ghanaweb said institutions can only be challenged if they fail to work in accordance with the constitution.
According to him, political interference in State institutions is what is gradually “killing” Ghana, adding, that for a nation to move forward, political leaders must stop interfering in the work of state institutions by allowing them to work independently.
“….When the EC is working they can inform us, they don’t have obligation to listen to us. They can just inform us. So when the EC say they are compiling a new register, I don’t see what is wrong with it and I’m not talking for NPP or NDC because the EC is not NPP. It’s an institution. But if you say there will be war if EC compiles or doesn’t compile a new voters, there will be war, it’s stupid.
“Finally, I want Ghanaians to understand that if you want to move forward then what we need is constitutionalism and institutionalism. Let the constitution work, the constitution is not working in Ghana. So if it is the police, let them do their work, if it’s the EC, let them do their work, if it is any organization let them do their work.
‘When these institutions are working, there are people who want to tell them what to do. No. Let the constitution tell them what they should do. That is what is killing Ghana. Institutions must be allowed to work independently so you challenge them only when they are going against the constitution.”
He also advised media houses to report politicians and stakeholders who make utterances that threaten the stability of the country as some comments against the state are prosecutable.
He further added that individuals or politicians who make such utterances do not have the interest of the nation at heart and must therefore be condemned and handed over to the right institutions to be dealt with accordingly.
“Those utterances divide the nation, insult the sensibility of Ghanaians, threaten the stability of the country from both sides of the divide, and those utterances clearly indicate that some of the politicians don’t have the nation at heart. Both sides are just talking things that should not be spoken, it doesn’t build the nation. It doesn’t give us anything.”
His comments are on the back of statements by some members of the two major leading parties threatening chaos during the expected voters’ registration exercise.
Dr Vladimir Antwi-Danso