Secrete ballot, one vital element of democracy, has been dragged into the mud by the Greater Accra Regional Minister, Linda Akweley Ocloo, who sat to strictly watch how assembly members thumbprinted ballots.
The unfortunate occured at the confirmation of the president’s nominee for the West Ada Constituency.
Ahead of the exercise, minister made it clear that, “I will monitor by physically checking the direction in which each assembly member will vote to see who will descent”.
True to her words, the minister took a seat very close to the opening of the electoral booth to observe the pattern every assembly member voted, an act which is undemocratic and constitute trampling on the rights of members under the electoral laws.
Not only the minister, but her security personnel and some officials on her entourage stood all through and kept close observation of each member to the chagrin of many democracy lovers who witnessed the exercise.
Surprisingly, the district electoral officer never said anything, not even when an experienced member, a former presiding member and former national president of prisiding members of Ghana, Dr. David Narh Amuyaw, raised issues about the gross violations.
Aside from that, despite the presence of police, fire and immigration officers to ensure peace and other at the event, the thugs believed to be land guards who follow the minister everywhere surrounded the assembly hall heightening tention at an exercise deemed to be democratic.
Such fictitious tendency characterised sorting and counting of ballots leading to the declaration of the nominee obtaining 72 percent to be deemed approved.
Ghana|Atinkaonline.com