POST-ELECTION LAWLESSNESS

Photo: The Toll Booth which was set ablaze at Sunyani West

"History has a way of repeating itself. Then also those who do not learn from history are bound to repeat the mistakes of the past. Two wrongs also don’t make a right.” Yet once again, post successful Election Ghana is plagued again by hooliganism perpetrated mostly by alleged foot-soldiers of the winning Party.

This has happened after each Election that the Party in power loses.

Many young men and women of the victorious party feel so powerful that they think they think they can get away with taking matters into their hands and seizing or destroying government properties.

In some instances, some officials of the losing Party are subjected to all kinds of indignities and attacks.

Cars are seized or damaged, offices are taken over, even toll booth operators are manhandled and “toilet guards” are not even spared in the hooliganism.

In spite of the fact that it has occurred in the past and was condemned by well meaning Ghanaians, the incident appears to be recurring any time power changes hands democratically.

There is a strong belief that it is the outcome of the “Winner Takes All”nature of our governance getting out of hand.

Our system creates the impression of a military government that has all the power to do anything it chooses to do and that has eaten into some supporters who want to express that absolute power by taking over state-owned institutions like it happened at the Tema Port and the Passport Office.

The danger in the phenomenon is the apparent helplessness of the Police Service who are mandated to ensure the safety of human beings and property. In the cases that happened a week ago, the police were conspicuously missing on action as the rampaging party supporters besieged the port and other places.

The inability of the police to act decisively and promptly in such cases could be explained in the fear of the hierarchy to fall victim to the political leadership of the party in power.

They wouldn't want to go against the supporters who voted the politicians to power, therefore, staying off the heat. Though this may sound as allegation against the Police, it looks like the most probable reason or explanation for their seemingly lackadaisical attitude towards this life- threatening behavior.

This recurrent transitional ritual must be stopped before it becomes a major blot in our democratic practice and the steps to ending it start with no other than the politician.

When the politicians promise the youth and errand boys jobs and other privileges, they forget to educate the fans on how such promises were going to be delivered.

They secretly tell them about jobs in institutions such as the police service, ports and passport office, thereby encouraging such acts of impunity. Until they stop making such promises to their boys we are likely to be having such vandalism for a long time to come.

For our democracy to thrive, supporters of all the Parties have to be educated to know that transition from one Party to another does not call for lawlessness; neither does it mean everything belonging to the state becomes party property. The laws do not cease to work after transition.

During the “Coup Days” of the 60’s-80’s, such acts may have been encouraged but in a wonderful democratic stage that we are now, hooliganism after elections are unacceptable and to say the least, primitive and outmoded.

State properties and workers have to be respected and protected by all. They are Ghanaians just like any other person.

Also, to stop these acts, politicians should put an end to the backdoor employment of unqualified party foot soldiers, who even undermine their legitimate employed counterparts.

These and other measures must be put in place to save the nation of the disgraceful behavior of criminals who operate under the cloak of partisanship to perpetrate violence. Time is up for this criminality.