By Prof. Nana Essilfie-Conduah
The puncture reigns. There are queries about their own assessments-accuracy; but beyond it is their usefulness in the whole processes after all, once the Judiciary are the trending as respectable final arbiters, acceptable.
They can disband quietly. Here for instances, everyone knows or has an opinion that the locals are, tentatively, or can be Partisan. It derives from our penchant to instantly politicise every minutia issue, not excluding family and Church. Observers may not be essential but the media are inextricable.
Media Reportage on Elections
Ghana 2012 and Kenya 2017 have provided the scales to question media reporting of elections throughout the world. There were years ago before and at the most up the mid-90s when the West-East ideologue politics framed the reportage covering Africa and the former Colonies in the developing Third World Countries.
Of course, the Press Institutions have continued the game between their countries and others as surrogates for their governments where the chap from the other side is deemed awkward in terms of pro patria. Ghana suffered that external Press diabolical under Dr. Kwame Nkrumah and with Fl-Lt Jerry John Rawlings up to the 1992 elections.
This country became obnoxious and mis-reported largely during the latter part of the short-lived Third Republic when President Dr. Hilla Limann would not be run on our oil finds, hydro-power [India sharing Tech] not going to Los Angeles to support the US break up the world Olympic games scheduled for Moscow and the Government’s refusal to buckle under US insistence that either the Presidency separated the presentation of letters of accreditation of US Ambassador and the Cuban or would not queue behind the Cuban.
The Cuban preceded here ahead of the US Envoy. He was thus the senior in the line up wherefore President Limann cancelled the schedule for the day but the US had to tow the line later.
Election Observers
Worryingly again, the Observer lot [EU Spokesperson] have gone on quick defence to claim that they recommended work on some irregularities, awaiting details of the full ruling by the Kenyan Supreme Court and in any case had advised “people who feel aggrieved to seek the path” of the Courts. “Go to Court” resonates familiar here.
A bad submission as it is, we get back to the usefulness of Observers.
The other major raison d’etre of their presence is scuttled by the fact that they cannot change results of elections. There have been occasions in the past when the Teams had differed with the outcomes. But none had instigated successful overturns.
The way forward constructively, is funding a study to provide comprehensive and perhaps universally agreed election manuals from registration to declaration. Individual countries have their regulations.
Unifying can start from that collection. It would be a compendium that should also teach in two ways: Observers, cut out fixed notions which could apparent and insulate the Monitors from becoming suspect for favouring A against B in the contests. Indeed, accusations are heard about Observers being suborned. Whether it is for real or speculation, it also trips up transparency. It is a total matter of all being in the same leaky boat and trying to repair it, once swimming is not an option.
Hacking
Now there is the entry of hacking into the equation and quest to satisfy the processes can be sustained without apprehension. That is ‘hacking’ halted to drift aside growing unease about elections in developed and developing nations today. The US as common knowledge goes, is grappling with it and these are early days yet to draw conclusions despite few hints which may hold clues to the veracity of the Russian intrusion for example, despite persistent denials.
Sergei Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister, recently said something intriguing about possible to probable connection. But I would put the analysis relative in abeyance.
The brevity for syntax about evidence in the sense of Russia’s alleged interference bunched with President Donald Trump’s “we did no wrong” kind of, suffice bemusing. Lavrov was reportedly responding [BBC 02-09-17] to the deteriorating Russo-US relations.
He said it was started by former President Barak Obama “with the purpose of undermining Russia-US relations and preventing President Donald Trump from making constructive proposals during his Presidency; to make it as difficult as possible for him to implement his election promise to normalise relations with Russia.”
Actually, Obama simply firmed a Western design led by US Republican President Ronald Reagan to break up the Soviet Union in the early 90s, ending its super power status.
Disagree and Respect
That bit of unfinished historical narrative brings me finally to President Kenyatta’s “I disagree but I respect it.” The beauty of language is that style and diction would always lend its substance – syntax to examination for precise meaning or thereabouts, not to misrepresent irrationally.
“Disagree” and “respect” are positive assertions. The meaning of one negates the other interpretively. Then together they do not make one right in political speaking, unlike Algebra’s ‘two negatives make one positive, or like equates in Geometry’s isosceles triangle. In this context, the world duped itself to applaud and give it a rushed erroneous “first-ever” daub only to howl when President Kenyatta reneged shortly after in another form of words which confirmed his innate rejection of the ruling.
Conclusion
This is where the danger lies in Kenya, for Africa and the world. He said repeatedly at the rally that “I am the President…you still have to deal with me…” addressing the Chief Justice and the Supreme Court. It is dangerous where the history is strewn with incumbents who would not scruple to use any pseudo means to “show you where power lies” to entrench.
However, the probability in the reality today against and which can fend off the pessimism seems overwhelmed by the hopeful preparedness of the world collectively to react appropriately if…All I am indicating is that no one shall sit down until then. Yet the latest volte face may not be well for Kenya shortly.
