Voting on personalities got its own advantages and disadvantages, equally, voting on policies also got its own advantages and disadvantages. However the way Ghanaian electorate cast their votes for a presidential candidate to lead the country since the year 2000 when Mr. Kuffour won, fortunately or unfortunately it has been on the personal character of the person rather than his party’s policies and programmes being disclosed. Accordingly, if somebody is saying look at my party’s policies not my personality to vote for me then that person is creating advanced lost result for himself in the 2012 general election. Yes, either you like it or not this has been the way and political mentality for majority of Ghanaian electorate to cast their votes, that is based on personality rather than party’s policies and programmes.
Voting based on personality rather than a party’s policies has favoured both NPP and NDC. How did it (voting on personality) favour NPP? During the 2000 electioneering campaign, Prof. Mills was absolutely disgraced for not being a responsible father by NPP especially in the Central Region which happens to be Prof. Mills’s home-region and hence strong poll. In 2000 when some people in the Central Region were interviewed, they stated that if Prof. Mills couldn’t cater for just one child how more millions of people in the country. Because of this allegation against Mills, more than 80% of the electorate in the region voted for Mr. Kuffour instead of Prof. Mills which eventually affected the whole national result for Mr. Kuffour to win. In the 2004 election, it wasn’t different; NPP campaigned on the same allegation against Mills, moreover at that time Prof. Mills hadn’t well convinced the electorate that he was a responsible father which helped Mr. Kuffour to retain the seat as the President.
Now how did voting on personality rather than a party’s policies also favour NDC? During the 2008 electioneering campaign, Prof. Mills was able to do his homework well by proving to the whole country especially in the Central Region that he had been a responsible father, therefore NPP couldn’t depend on that allegation again against him. His (Prof. Mills’s) major opponent that is Akufo Addo was and even now accused of being a drug addict, arrogant, and hot-headed. In 2008 the electorate didn’t consider NPP policies neither they considered NDC policies but they did consider such allegations against Akufo Addo and voted for Prof. Mills. If you would acknowledge, during the 2008 election especially the run-off, it wasn’t NPP policies as against NDC policies but it was Akufo Addo’s personalities as against Prof. Mills’s personalities. Akufo Addo couldn’t sufficiently debunk such allegations against him and the electorate voted for Prof. Mills.
Philosophically, if you are solving a problem and you don’t take care, you may create another or other problems for yourself. I read a news about one Mr.Ashante Beidatuo who is a lawyer for Akufo Addo that they would take a legal action (court) against those who accuse Akufo Addo of being a drug addict. Who are those accusing Akufo Addo of being a drug addict? The answer is the electorate. And who are these electorate? The electorate who Akufo Addo wants them to hear his so-called “listening campaign” in order to be convinced and he (Akufo Addo) wants to take a legal action against them. Are we seeing a little bit of his (Akufo Addo’s) hot-headed character? Ghanaian electorate are such that they need pampering speeches and attitudes, immediately you take any hot-headed or arrogant attitude toward them they will also advise themselves when casting their votes. I even heard the same lawyer of Akufo Addo saying, “If Akufo Addo is on drugs arrest him.” In fact it is not matter of arresting Akufo Addo but is matter of voting against him therefore the lawyer should have said, “If Akufo Addo is on drugs vote against him.” The electorate would not arrest him but they may vote against him.
When Prof. Mills was falsely accused of not being a responsible father, he didn’t say he would let his lawyers to deal with those who allegedly accused him neither he said they should report him to CHRAJ or court but he (Prof. Mills) amicably approached those electorate especially in the Central Region to prove his innocence. He didn’t take hot-headed approach to deal with those liars as Akufo Addo wants to do to those who accuse him of being a drug addict. The more Akufo Addo tries to be harsh and wild on his allegation(s) the more the electorate get to know his hot-headed and arrogant attitude being accused of. If Akufo Addo just sticks to his so-called policies without coming out to clarify his personality by taking a blood test or any accepted test of drug addiction then he must exclude Ghana Presidency from his vocabulary. As I indicated, most electorate don’t consider policies but they consider characters. I do really agree with Mr. Kofi Wayo when he said he wanted to help Akufo Addo if he (Akufo Addo) could take a laboratory- test to terminate that allegation out of electorate’s mind. When Kofi Wayo said this, some NPP executives asked him (Kofi Wayo) to go and test himself first. So I asked myself whether Kofi Wayo who wanted some votes from the electorate or Akufo Addo? I repeat, most Ghanaian electorate don’t vote on policies but they vote on personalities therefore if Akufo Addo sticks to his so-called policies without taking appropriately amicable solution to debunk such allegation of drug addiction as President Mills did to his irresponsible father accusation then he (Akufo Addo) must exclude Ghana presidency from his meaning.
Stephen
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