Dear President-Elect Nana Addo
Safe Democracy Ghana welcomes you again for the second time. The first congratulation we offered you was in a Press Release published by Modern Ghana online on 20th October 2014 when you won the ticket as the standard bearer of the New Patriotic Party. We told you in that Press Release what was desired of you.
Now that you are the President of Ghana on November 7, we continue to appeal to you in person as the President of Ghana, the initiator of all bills and Acts of Parliament under this dispensation that, the 1992 Constitution is fraught with anomalies that requires political will and determination to correct; such that mother Ghana shall not be scourged with irate poverty as a result of the constitution under which we live.
We congratulate you once again and welcome you to the seat of the Presidency of the Republic of Ghana where the President of Ghana under Article 57 of the 1992 Constitution is the; Head of Government and Chief Executive Officer of Ghana under Article 58 of the 1992 Constitution and; Commander in Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces
Articles 57 and 78 of the 1992 Constitution are straight forward anomalies under a State without a countervailing authority to challenge government ineptness, hence hasty, unwise and proscriptive laws being imposed on us since the inception of the 1992 Constitution.
Nana, the National Democratic Congress that signed the 1992 Constitution and admitted it into law saw the incompatibility it bore with our social norms, the irregularities of the Constitution pari-passu other constitutions of the world and caused the creation of the Constitution Review Commission with controlled terms of reference to cause to amend some sections of the Constitution 1992, a window dressing couture move.
Under President John Atta Mills (late) administration, a Constitution Review Commission was commissioned under Article 278 which was challenged in the Supreme Court because per the term of reference of the Constitution Article 289, the Parliament of Ghana has that capacity to initiate constitutional amendment. The Supreme Court ruled in favour of the government and by extension started a review exercise under its terms of reference, under President Mahama, a White Paper on the Constitution Review Exercise was issued. Both President Mills and President Mahama share the same opinion of social democrats and they did nothing good but limited the mandate and terms of reference of the Constitution Review Commission to the precepts of the Consultative Assembly which flagrantly comatose the purpose of the team of experts framers of the constitution and thereby forced a weak but exorbitant political governance scheme imbued with chaotic, hazardous and intrepid political arrogance that stirs ethnocentric sentiments and consequently have negative effects on Ghana’s economy.
The Constitution 1992 has no characteristics of USA and UK democratic systems so much trumpeted by its proponents. What we have is a de facto Zambian Constitution and similarly France 1958 Constitution where the President is elected on the basis of more than fifty percent valid votes cast in his favour. Even then, the President of France is not the head of government; he is the Head of State and regardless of his party affiliations, he shall ceremoniously appoint the leader of the majority political party in the National Assembly as the Prime Minister. The government of France is constituted from the National Assembly.
No wonder, only 43 percent adult suffrage Ghanaians voted the 1992 Constitution into law against 56 percent contrary to the spirit of the law under Article 63.3 that calls for absolute majority win for a Presidential Candidate, a position akin to our natural laws as assigned to the head of the families.
Ironically Article 63 that generates and produces Article 57 is very contentious and the root cause of extreme corruption in this republic. It paves the way for inexplicable patronage sustained on the platform of Article 55.3. These are the bane of Ghana’s democracy and constitutionality and we must fast resolve it not to lose our democracy “before it becomes too late” Jeremiah John Rawlings President of Ghana (1992-2000) on the eve of 31st December Celebration 2015.
We must create the political will and enabling posture to combat it through rigorous and forceful amendments where the National House of Chiefs shall elect from among them the President of Ghana whilst political parties in their Primaries shall elect their presumptive standard bearer and on their win of absolute majority in parliament, he assumes becoming the head of government appointed by the President of Ghana. Where a political party does not make a majority in parliament, they shall form coalition to obtain the absolute majority, hence democratic evolution and mass participation in decision making affecting majority of the people of Ghana.
The contest to win to occupy the office of the President of Ghana under the current dispensation is very strenuous, heinous, and cumbersome which it must not. Safe Democracy Ghana confidently repeats that, it is tenuous the people of Ghana are dolefully grilled to elect a person on the basis of more than 50% valid votes cast under Article 63 of the 1992 Constitution and adorn the person the powers to form government, then becomes the head of government himself under a single chamber parliament where he appoints majority of his ministers.
The conglomeration of these portfolios (the head of state, head of government and commander in chief of the Ghana Armed forces) in the hands of one person elected on a partisan political platform is mischief and an affront to mother Ghana where culture and traditions of the people is dignified and held high esteem.
All persons living in Ghana, including politicians, identify with and acknowledged chieftaincy institutions as an astute and indispensable institution of repute that cannot be ignored when it comes to social affairs and local government administration.
Surely it is great disservice to the people of Ghana and an affront to our culture and tradition not to have married, polished and made elegant our culture and traditions as the cornerstone and epitome of our constitution by having to admit into actions and practices, the spirits of Article 39 (1-4) contained in the directive principles of State Policy of the 1992 Constitution.
The Consultative Assembly I beg to differ with, run away from the true interpretation, translating and transmitting into the body politic, body language of the constitution the concept in the directive principle of State Policy contained under Article 39 of the 1992 Constitution to give grounds to our culture and tradition to hold sway in our political actions of elections and political administration.
Again Ghana, a nation that prides itself with its cultural heritage, Chieftaincy Institutions, natural hospitality that has long preceded Ghana’s independence and all governments and Constitutions Ghana has ever seen including the Constitution 1992, must play a bigger role than the limited mandate provisioned under the 1992 Constitution and Act 758 (2000) such that our standard of living may improve.
It is upright, just and passable for reconsidering the chieftaincy institution guaranteed under Article 270 of the 1992 Constitution that, it merits holding the highest political office in Ghana; Ceremonial Presidency like our counterparts the Malaysians that the members of the National House of Chiefs shall elect from among them, the Head of State of Ghana.
This best translate Articles 39 and 276 of the 1992 Constitution and in their Ceremonial gown, power is demystified into cultural platinum for the invitation of tourist round the globe to see how Africans and for that matter mother Ghana thinks of political power when our festivities are redesigned in a Ceremonial form of transferring power from one traditional ruler to the other.
Indirect elections of persons managing the affairs of a nation are the accepted norm everywhere in the Western World democracies and it is Ghanaian because our chiefs are indirectly elected.
Australia, Canada, South Africa, Germany, United Kingdom, Denmark, Netherlands, Israel, India and the United States electoral scheme of electing their Presidents are akin to the Ghanaian cultural system of how our Chiefs and Kings are selected and made. This is also very true of the 1957, 1960 and 1969 Constitutions of Ghana where heads of governments were indirectly elected.
The reasons indirect elections are better-off and for that matter the United States Electoral College as Alexander Hamilton posit are that “The Constitution is designed to ensure “that the office of President will never fall to the lot of any man who is not in an eminent degree endowed with the requisite qualifications.” The point of the Electoral College is to preserve “the sense of the people,” while at the same time ensuring that a president is chosen “by men most capable of analyzing the qualities adapted to the station, and acting under circumstances favourable to deliberation, and to a judicious combination of all the reasons and inducements which were proper to govern their choice.” – Alexander Hamilton in the Federalist Papers No 10
Indirect elections of managers of Ghana’s economy would yield great positive result, salvaged and save the good people of Ghana from exhaustive electioneering trauma, turbulent campaign idiosyncrasies and save millions of campaign fund directed into electing one person who becomes the President of Ghana.
In fact considering better alternatives available to this laborious electoral scheme under Article 63.3, Ghanaians must join hands with us to eschew stressful stretch and impudence of electoral malfeasance we have burdened ourselves with and suffered from since the inception of the constitution 1992. We must opt for indirect elections of our heads of governments and heads of state like it is done in other democracies.
The direct election exercise of the President of Ghana as it is under Article 63, is money consuming with inflates of higher economic burdens that finally becomes the burden of the lone citizen whose daily bread matters in an evolving democracy. The exercise further invokes the spirit of divisions of people once identified with a slogan that one people, one nation with common destiny. The trauma of ethnocentric remarks that polarized situations that affects investors conscience is the one damning blows our electoral system has carved for us with an intention to throw us into absolute disarray, confusion and tyranny.
As a result developed democracies, including the United States, Germany, United Kingdom, India and Japan eschew direct elections of persons who shall manage their economics for them – their Presidents and Prime Ministers.
It must be noted that, the President of France who is elected on absolute majority win like we do in Ghana here, is never the head of government of France. He is the head of State of France.
Arguably, we would desire that political will must include the will to engage in devolution of power and consider the President of the National House of Chiefs the Ceremonial President of Ghana who shall be elected by the National House of Chiefs as it stands today.
The government of Ghana would then make economic and social decisions affecting the people of Ghana and could do better as the government is of the absolute majority in Parliament.