Ghana: EC announces creation of 45 new constituencies

Last week, the Electoral Commission (EC) chairman, Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, made it known that the 45 new constituencies are to be demarcated in time for this year's presidential poll. Speaking at a forum organised by the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) he said that the creation of the new constituencies was the EC's constitutional responsibility following the release of new census figures by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS).

The opposition claims that the timing of the announcement has been calculated to benefit the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC). Whilst conceding that the EC's actions are legal the New Patriotic Party's (NPP) parliamentary leader, Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu, told the local press that the law allowed presidents to “create constituencies to favour a particular political party” which was, he said, the NDC's aim in this case.

The NPP's chairman in the UK, Hayford Atta-Krufi, told a London based radio station that the NDC and the EC are “in cahoots” to cheat the Ghanaian people in the forthcoming elections with the creation of the new constituencies, as further evidenced by the GSS withholding the results of the population census for two years.

Article 47(5) of the 1992 Constitution mandates the EC to “review the division of Ghana into constituencies at intervals of not less than seven years, or within twelve months after the publication of the enumeration figures after holding of a census of the population of Ghana, whichever is earlier, as may, as a result, alter constituencies”.

In 2004, the EC increased the number of constituencies from 200 to the current 230. The creation of further constituencies has been expected following the creation of 42 new districts last year.

The Electoral Commission has also announced that, out of Ghana's total prison population of over 13,000, only 476 registered to vote during the recent targeted biometric registration exercise. This fuelled further speculation that some prisoners had deliberately been prevented from registering. The EC continues, however, to deny this and says that the prison service had done everything possible to ensure that all prisoners who could provide the required registration form could participate.

Last year President Mills announced the government's intention to allow prisoners to vote last year, following many years of national debates and pressure from human rights campaigners, after a Supreme Court ruling was backed by the president.

The EC also said that a two-day “mop-up” exercise that took place at 186 registration centres around the country on 9 and 10 June produced an additional 16,487 voters. The Commission decided to allow those who were unable to register the first time round, because of technical and other difficulties, the chance to do so.

For more news and expert analysis about Ghana, please see Ghana Politics & Security.

© 2012 Menas Associates

Ghana: Government outlines measures to prevent electoral disputes

The government outlines measures to prevent electoral disputes as leading politicians and interest groups continue to call for peace in the run up to the 2012 elections.

Longstanding pressure on both main political parties to ratchet down the election rhetoric and eschew violence is beginning to have some effect. The main protagonists are, however, still far from making the necessary public commitments on banning hate speech and condemning violence that is necessary. There is a large measure of hypocrisy from both sides on the issue and the need for a more assertive stance from neutral civil society organisations.

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) government has reaffirmed its commitment to peaceful elections after various incidents of violence and corruption during the recently completed biometric voter registration exercise prompted widespread criticism of the ruling party as well as the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP). Attorney General and Minister of Justice Benjamin Kumbuor told local reporters that the government is implementing measures to prevent electoral disputes including fresh training for the security agencies.

Observers are continuing to express concern about violent rhetoric used by politicians in the run up to December's general election.

The Ghana for Peace movement, for example, which is a non-partisan youth group with a country-wide membership, has begun a nationwide peace tour calling for young people to reject violence in the run up to the December general elections.

The Coalition of Muslim Organisations - Ghana (COMOG) has said that the biometric registration exercise had been characterised by provocative confrontations, reckless statements, and advocacy for lawlessness along tribal lines by a cross section of self-seeking politicians who should know better.

During a dialogue between the eastern regional police command and political party representatives in Koforidua, the latter said that developments during the biometric voter registration campaign had highlighted a number of concerns, including the need for the police to be fair and firm to all irrespective of their political beliefs.

For more news and expert analysis about Ghana, please see Ghana Politics & Security.

© 2012 Menas Associates

Former president Rawlings criticises Mills

Former president Jerry John Rawlings has spoken out against President John Atta Mills and his government. The former Ghanaian president issued a statement saying Mills' government was unable to “see the growing darkness around them” and was sinking into a bottomless pit.

In the statement to the media on Monday 26 March, Rawlings said the suspension of his aide, Kofi Adams, as Deputy General Secretary of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) over an alleged leaked tape, was “to serve a parochial and unpatriotic interest” of some party officials.

Adams is on suspension for 90 days pending the outcome of a Disciplinary Committee's investigation for allegedly saying in a secret recording that he will be part of a plot to ensure Mills' defeat in the December elections, after Nana Konadu lost the bid to become the party's presidential candidate at the Sunyani Congress.

Rawlings, who has spoken out against Mills before, concluded in his statement that “Ghana needs a real and true awakening." He added: "The government is fast speeding the country into an abyss and as Easter draws near let us seek God's guidance in honest, unpretentious prayer of supplication.”

Sources: Ghana Web, My Joy Online, Citifmonline

For more news and expert analysis about Ghana, please see Ghana Politics & Security.

Ghana: Attorney General's accusations lead to a political storm

Recent allegations by Attorney General Martin Amidu, that there are senior National Democratic Congress (NDC) government appointees who are committing “gargantuan crimes” against Ghanaians, has led to attacks on him from both NDC members and the opposition including the minority Peoples National Convention (PNC). The former demand that Amidu resign following his allegations while the latter demand that he name the guilty individuals. Amidu also complained of allegedly coordinated attacks from the “rented” press ordered by, or in support of key NDC members, in response to his “gargantuan crime” remarks.

The NDC's discomfort at his claim is illustrated by its deputy general secretary Kofi Adam's statement that the allegations could harm the party's election prospects because comments like this “can even cost the party an election, it can reduce and trust that people have in the governance system” and follow similar criticisms from the Deputy Minister of Information. What led to Amidu's allegation is unclear but it appears that they may have been in connection with the Alfred Woyome issue described below. Also perhaps in response to criticisms and negative coverage from newspapers - such as the Daily Post, National Democrat and Ghanaian Lens (which he describes as being in the pockets of the NDC) - which Amidu believes are, at the behest of an unnamed government minister, perhaps unhappy that he is pursuing corrupt or “criminal” party members.

Amidu is no party outsider having served as deputy attorney general under the Rawlings Administration and even being President John Atta Mill's running mate for the 2000 elections. His accusations are therefore re-shining a light on the NDC's internal divisions are his comments are likely to be used by the opposition against the government during this election year.

For more news and expert analysis about Ghana, please see Ghana Politics & Security.

© 2012 Menas Associates

President Mills lauds Ghana's progress at UN

President John Atta Mills reiterated his commitment to credible and violence-free elections in 2012 when he addressed members of the 66th Session of the UN General Assembly in New York.

“Ghana's democratic credentials stand tall and we intend to maintain the standards we have achieved,” he said, adding that the Ghana's Electoral Commission (EC) has the necessary resources to conduct the elections in a free, fair and transparent manner.

He invited the international community to monitor the 2012 poll, as it did in 2008.

Briefing the General Assembly on the government's development initiatives, he said that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration continued to invest heavily in young people by improving education and skills training, instituting anti-drug campaigns, and using the oil and gas industry to create new opportunities.

He said his government had also taken measures to strengthen the rule of law by implementing legislation to promote accountability and good governance, protect human rights, and ensure the independence and integrity of the judiciary and the freedom of the media.

For more news and expert analysis about Ghana, please see Ghana Politics & Security.

© 2011 Menas Associates

Ghana: Deficit target widens in 2011 budget, more loans contracted

On 21st July parliament approved a revised 2011 budget raising the public deficit target from 4.1 per cent to 5.1 per cent of GDP. The supplementary budget will also increase spending by GH¢1.5 billion for the year, allowing for more investment in infrastructure and social issues.

The Finance Ministry has said the new spending will target job creation and comes after Ghana raised its predictions for oil revenues.

During the debate, members of the parliamentary Minority criticised the government for its “excessive” borrowing culture, accusing the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government of building up more debt in two years than the New Patriotic Party (NPP) had done over a period of eight years in government.

Parliament went on its annual summer recess on 22nd July having approved three loan agreements at its last sitting. Opposition politicians and anti-corruption activists claim that all contracts are overpriced and could be used to help finance the ruling party's 2012 election campaign

The loans include a US$337 million (GH¢505.6 million) agreement with the Bank Hapoalim BM of Israel for the construction of a 59-bed hospital for the University of Ghana and additional works on the Ho Regional Hospital and Hohoe District Hospital (both in NDC-supporting areas); a €13 million (GH¢28 million) agreement with ABN AMRO Bank NV of the Netherlands to finance the additional works on the Barekese Water Supply Expansion Project; and a US$800,000 (GH¢1.2 million) loan agreement with Canada's Société Générale to finance additional works on the ongoing 132-megawatt Combined-Cycle Thermal Plant at Aboadze.

During its third session, five out of nine bills put before parliament were passed: the Petroleum Commission Bill, the Bio-Safety Bill, the Law Reforms Commission Bill, the Health Institution Facilities Bill and the Export Development and Investment Fund Bill.

For more news and expert analysis about Ghana, please see Ghana Politics & Security.

© 2011 Menas Associates

Nana Konadu Rawlings fails in NDC bid for presidency

Nana Konadu Rawlings, wife of Ghana's former president Jerry John Rawlings, has failed in her bid to secure a vote as the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) party's presidential candidate in the 2012 election.

During a three-day NDC convention in Accra, Rawlings won a mere 3.1 per cent of the vote, with the remainder 96.9 per cent going to President John Atta Mills.

In his victory speech, Mills promised to rebuild bridges within the NDC caused by pressures pertaining to the contest. Speaking to the crowd, Mills said he wanted to ensure unity and show that all members of the NDC “belong to one party".

The outright victory followed Mills' success in all 10 regions with a total of 2771 votes; leaving the former First Lady firmly behind in the race with a mere 90 votes.

Mills gave assurance in his victory speech that “certain issues and concerns raised by the rank and file of membership of the party during his campaign will be addressed.” He also told party members and delegates: “Let us leave here a united party. There should be no bickering, no name calling, no divisive tendencies.”

The general consensus among NDC members was that it wasn't the right time for the party to change “the Yutong driver,” and that Mills is the best candidate to represent the NDC in next year's election.

Sources: BBC News, MyJoy Online, Ghana Web

For more news and expert analysis about Ghana, please see Ghana Politics & Security.

Ghana: Ex-president blasts wife's detractors

The office of former president Jerry John Rawlings has released a statement criticising a series of “false, libellous and slanderous” articles in the Ghana press “calculated to tarnish the image and create public disaffection against the former president and his wife, Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings”. Nana Konadu is planning to contest the leadership of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) ahead of national elections in 2012.

The statement, released on 26th June, points in particular to “a scurrilous article by former British diplomat Craig Murray that accuses the former president and Mrs Rawlings of fraud, bribery and corrupt tendencies,” which it says has been reproduced by several publications since Mrs Rawlings announced her candidacy for NDC party leader.

The statement said: “The allegations by Mr Murray, a discredited diplomat who was compelled to quit the service because of the reckless manner he allowed his personal opinion to blight his judgement, have never been substantiated and are still a subject of potential legal action”.

It continued, “Members of the media are cautioned not to fall victim to the political schemes of unscrupulous persons who are hell-bent on destroying the reputation of Flt Lt Rawlings and Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings in a bid to scupper Nana Konadu's chances at the forthcoming presidential primaries … any libellous and defamatory publications by members of the media will be taken up accordingly.”

Murray wrote on his website: “I have written no articles in the Ghanaian media for years, and have not written anything about the Rawlings for over four years. Possibly someone is reproducing (without my permission, and in breach of copyright) some old material … but I am certainly not interfering in Ghana's election in the way suggested.”

For more news and expert analysis about Ghana, please see Ghana Politics & Security.

© 2011 Menas Associates

Ghana: Battle for NDC presidential nomination is a tree horse race

Having turned the battle for the presidential nomination of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) into a three horse race, Ekwow Spio-Garbrah is working hard to secure maximum political advantage. The former education minister never hid his political ambitions, and styles himself as the leader of the next generation of NDC politicians. Party insiders are puzzling over his tactics.

As a close confidante of both Jerry and Nana Rawlings, he has attracted accusations of taking a stalking horse role on behalf of his allies. On this calculation, Ekow-Garbrah, a Fante technocrat from Central Region was reckoned to be able to take votes from President John Atta Mills who, among other things, is seen as a Fante technocrat drawing substantial support from his Central Region base.

There has been no love lost between Mills and Spio-Garbrah since the 2008 NDC presidential nomination when Mills trounced Spio-Garbrah and has locked him out of the government ever since.

Three things could happen after the July NDC contest and all of them would be good for Spio-Garbrah: firstly, and most likely he could poll enough votes to reinforce his position within the party making it impossible for Mills to continue to lock him out; he could either emerge as king (winning the nomination outright) after several rounds of voting; or he could emerge as kingmaker, using his votes to secure victory for Nana Rawlings and perhaps getting a role as running mate.

On the debit side, if he loses, Mills will grant him no favours and he will continue be locked out. The big test for Spio-Garbrah is whether he has an independent base in the party or whether his support will depend on some sort of deal with Nana Rawlings.

A popular theory in Accra is that Nana Rawlings will drop out of the race about a week before the special congress, but endorse Spio-Garbrah as the face of the new generation. She would do so to avoid public humiliation by Mills but also in the hope that her 31 December women's movement will deliver all the female delegate votes to Spio-Garbrah, and that he might get a respectable showing and fatally wound Mills.

For more news and expert analysis about Ghana, please see Ghana Politics & Security.

© 2011 Menas Associates

Nana Rawlings formally launches bid to challenge incumbent John Atta Mills

Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings has formally launched her bid to challenge incumbent John Atta Mills for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) nomination ahead of the 2012 elections. Rawlings' husband, former president Jerry John Rawlings, has criticised Mills' “indecisive” leadership ever since he took office in January 2009.

The 62-year-old Nana Rawlings and her supporters say that Mills has not stayed true to NDC principles. On collecting her nomination papers on 3rd May, Rawlings told reporters it was “the beginning of taking the country Ghana back where it belongs”.

It is the first time since Ghana's return to democracy in 1992 that a sitting President has been challenged as party leader. Analysts say it shows divisions within the ruling NDC and a desire by former president Rawlings to increase his influence.

Jerry John Rawlings seized power in a military coup in both 1979 and 1981. He then served as elected president from 1993 to 2001, during which time President Mills served as his Vice-President.

Nana Rawlings is popular with her party's women's wing but Mills looks likely to win the nomination, unless other more credible candidates join the contest.

Some 2,500 NDC delegates will cast their vote for party leader at the party congress in July.

For more news and expert analysis about Ghana, please see Ghana Politics & Security.

© 2011 Menas Associates

Ghana: The New Patriotic Party tries internal democracy again

As the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) braces itself for an acrimonious primary contest for the party's presidential nomination in the 2012 elections, the opposing New Patriotic Party (NPP) is also organising primary contests to select its parliamentary candidates for the elections. Last year, the NPP held its own presidential primaries which elected Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo as the party's candidate with a massive majority.

The two parties, however, have different internal electoral systems. The NPP has chosen a much more open system of selecting candidates which involves as many as 117,000 delegates, all of whom are established members of the party. They form the basis on the electoral college which chooses candidates and office holders within the party. This system appears to be more open and democratic and less vulnerable to techniques of bribery or intimidation which in the past have been used to influence the choice of candidates. The result seems to be that of an internal democracy and a less competitive and independently-minded party.

By contrast, the NDC has stayed with the old-style party election system and will be choosing its presidential candidate at a special party congress with a much narrower list of delegates than its counterpart.

For more news and expert analysis about Ghana, please see Ghana Politics & Security.

© 2011 Menas Associates

Ghana’s rescue efforts still lagging

President John Atta Mills' government is accelerating its efforts to evacuate Ghanaian nationals from Libya after a very sluggish start at the beginning of the political crisis. However the effort by Ghanaian officials still efforts lag way behind those of countries in the European Union, India and Ghana’ regional neighbour Nigeria which has chartered planes to rescue its nationals.

On the other fronts – such as the condemnation of the Qadhafi regime for its murderous attacks on its own people and the application of financial sanctions against Tripoli – Ghana's diplomacy under the uncertain guidance of Foreign Minister Muhammad Mumuni could be said to be missing in action.

Part of the problem may be Mumuni's incompetence and political vacillation on most issues, another problem be the previously close relations that some senior members of the
ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) had nurtured with the Qadhafi regime.

Ghana and Kenya have been widely listed as countries where the Qadhafi family and sundry Libyan state investment vehicles such as the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA) and its many subsidiaries have put money in companies and institutions. None of these investments are yet subject to sanctions and therefore, for the Qadhafi regime, its interests in Ghana and other African countries could become increasingly important if the sanctions start to have a debilitating effect on its ability to procure weapons and fuel.

For more news and expert analysis about Ghana, please see Ghana Politics & Security.

© 2011 Menas Associates

Ghana: NDC leadership struggle warms

A proliferation of large colour posters around Accra and other large towns proclaim Nana Konadu as the best hope for the presidential election in 2012. Their appearance is the clearest indication yet that the former first lady and her husband, former president Jerry John Rawlings, are planning a challenge to incumbent president John Atta Mills at the next party conference of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC).

Former president Rawlings has been gradually stepping up the volume and virulence of his attacks on Mills over the past year and seems unconstrained by concerns that he is splitting the ruling NDC and damaging its chances in the 2012 elections.

Heralded as a part of a campaign by self-styled NDC 'Foot Soldiers', the appearance of the posters supporting Nana Konadu has been shrouded in mystery. Anonymous callers claiming to be 'Foot Soldiers' have been telephoning FM stations in Accra to voice discontent with the Mills administration, but they will not explain how they have raised the money to launch the campaign.

At celebrations in Tamale to mark the 4th June anniversary of Rawlings' seizure of power in 1979, activists waved posters and banners in support of the Movement for Nana Konadu Rawlings 2012. However, the campaign has evidently mushroomed since then, with posters appearing in the main commercial areas of Accra, Cape Coast and Kumasi.

Spokesman for the Rawlings family Kofi Adams has insisted that Nana Konadu knew nothing about the 'Foot Soldiers' and their campaign. However, he said that as party activists they had the right to pursue their campaign and promote their ideas within the party.

For more news and expert analysis about Ghana, please see Ghana Politics & Security.

© 2010 Menas Associates