As
a journalist specializing in business and economic reporting, mainstream
hardcore politicking has not been of much interest; mainly because the seemingly
blind partisanship often derails the common national drive for socio-economic
good.
Yet
the son of man cannot divorce the politics of government policies from the
quest for economic emancipation and advancement; and most importantly, business
cannot thrive in an atmosphere devoid of peace, which as a quadrennial ritual,
replaces the national anthem in the run-up to the polls.
So,
it becomes a matter of compulsion for me to have interest in politics,
especially in an election year.
I
therefore had my heart and head set on the goal of playing my part to promote
Ghana’s democratic credential in the heat up to the December 2012 Presidential
and Parliamentary Elections. Above all, the agenda is to enjoy life with my
family and friends!
A
high sense of responsibility must be upheld in reporting Ghana’s elections, as
the country today commands global respect as a beacon of hope in Africa
politics. The obligation to instill free, fair and transparent polls rest
squarely on the shoulders of all other interest groups – including the
Electoral Commission, political parties and candidates, electorates, security
agencies, civil society and others.
Luckily
for me, I had the experience of the 2004 and 2008 elections as a guide as I lend
a hand for the team in Ashanti region to deliver to patrons – discerning consumers
of information from the stables of the Multimedia Group’s Election
Headquarters.
Indeed
uneasy it is to lead in the media business – the stakes are always high and surely
there certainly cannot be any room for complacency.
The
newsroom as usual is my playfield but during this period I’m mostly passive in
the action – mainly engaged in editorials and information dissemination through
the reports of my astute colleagues.
The
activation of campaigning brought in its wake challenges in news gate-keeping as
the various political parties and ambitious candidates jostled for airspace and
headlines.
The
unpleasant thing about this my journalism job is to play neutral – what we call
objectivity – even when deep within, your conscience and common sense communicate
to you that a politician is toying with the heart or vote of an electorate.
But
surely, a reporter can only report what is seen or heard and strive to protect
the public good.
For
me, the public good in electioneering is to put the electorate first! They’ll
queue in person, with stones, in sickness, in disability and in old age, just
to cast their vote; either to make a change or maintain a good.
In
my humble opinion, these democratic people seeking to exhibit their power
through the ballot should never be counted as numbers but as human beings
exercising their franchise.
Hence,
no politician should be given room to take the electorate for granted. And this
was my orientation as part of a team deployed to cover the elections in all
constituencies.
Covering the polls
On
Election Day December 7, I was positioned in the Offinso South Constituency to monitor
the electoral proceedings, whilst liaising with other first-time election monitors
to get the best out of their reports.
In
my familiar terrain, I did not experience much of a challenge in combing the
territory to have a feel of the exercise – I recorded relatively high voter turn-out,
enthusiasm to participate in the process and tolerable comportment.
Going
by the heightened tension in Kumasi few days to the polls, I was excited at the
maturity in engagements at the polling stations and I was confident of a
peaceful exercise.
I
recorded few glitches in the application of biometric verification system in
the voting process; obviously experimenting with such a technology would not
have been without hiccups.
My
observation generally gave an assurance of a smooth process, but least did I expect
that I’ll be spending my night at the collation centre – an experience that prompted
me to pray against a run-off in the race to the presidency.
I
had not factored in the fact that polling stations in the hinterlands may be handicapped
in transporting the ballot boxes to the collation centre on time… and so the
vigil ensued till the battle ended midday following day.
My
profession delights in new, unusual and exciting things and on this basis, I can
confidently say there was no news in Offinso South Constituency – the final results
was the obvious expected; cannot be counted among the shocking incidents that
had been recorded elsewhere. Simple a boring exercise!
The intrigues
People
stayed glued to their radio sets to keep abreast with happenings across the
country – and the political color of some so-called observers of the polls got
betrayed through their unconscious emotional attachment to the radio broadcast.
The
social media platforms were most interesting, especially as the uncertified
figures were churned out by folks on facebook. At this moment I cherished the
beauty of having friends from various political divides because it was the only
means to strike the balance and understand the dynamics of the figures.
It
was also interesting to see how technology aided the vote collation.
The
Electoral Commission may have gone electronic in registering and verifying
voters but not in vote count.
In
a constituency of some 117 polling stations, the returning officer would have extended
our day a little longer by computing results with a table calculator. But thanks
to the intervention of a representative of one of the political parties who saved
us the ordeal by putting his MS-Excel to good use and offering accurate statistics
and computation of the constituency results.
I
returned to Kumasi exhausted but there would be no rest for me, especially with
the general keen interest in who wins the Presidential polls.
Matters
got worse after my Election Headquarters, based on collated results, projected
a likely win for one of the presidential candidates.
Some
called me to verify the collated figures, others to raise doubts about
mathematics and many others to rain insults on my profession and media
organization – all taken in good stride, acknowledging very well the hazard of
practicing journalism in a highly polarized environment!
I
heaved a huge sigh of relief when the Electoral Commissioner finally declared
the results; not because of who had won or lost, but for the vindication of the
team at the Election Headquarters for projecting right.
The
human and material resource invested in electioneering and the risk of professionalism
would not go down the drain and that was the Joy of my Luv for the Multimedia
Group.
I
surely understand the pain of losing an election and the joy of emerging
victorious but I can’t understand why anyone would think the hundreds of
professionals working within a particular media organization would all be aligned
to one particular political party.
Whatever
the case maybe, I take pride in the team I work with and feel fulfilled that I played
a part, no matter how negligible, in promoting Ghana’s democracy.
I
just love my job and my country.
May
Ghana continue to set the pace of political maturity in Africa!
Views
of Kofi Adu Domfeh
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