2016 GHANA ELECTION – A ONE-SIDED POLITICAL CLASICO (FOCUS ON CAMPAIGN ADVERTISING)

By: My Pen

My political consciousness started taken form in the early years of the millennium. As a boy, my focus was not set on the policies but the euphoria that came with general elections. Besides, what did I need policies for? My comprehension was too flaccid to be bombarded with long political essays. Ironically, that was when my interest began. I was totally for the triviality of it than the gravity.

As it is typical of our national politics, during every general elections songs are composed and political slang constructed. And these two main factors were catchy enough for me and many others my age to join the bandwagon.  Unknown to many of us, these were party styles to embark on a media advertising campaign. They were meant for driving the agenda of political parties to our homes and also to market the flag bearers. I still remember then New Patriotic Party’s candidate Kufour’s “eye ase ho” term, to wit, your choice “is beneath” the ballot sheet. Candidate Atta-Mills, then Vice President also focused on his position on the ballot sheet and trumpeted “eye soro ho”, to wit, the choice to make “is at the top” of the ballot paper. “Atta-Mills wo soro ho” song was composed with the rhythm of a popular Christian song to get people singing along and set their focus on the first of the list of candidates on the ballot paper. The People’s National Congress’ (Edward) Mahama cannot be forgotten. “Eye kube!” meaning; “it is the coconut” was very popular during those days. It was an attempt to appeal to voters to locate the coconut tree (which is his party symbol) on the ballot paper. Though very simple, the manner in which the political parties trumpeted them stuck with many of us.

Amidst the usual tension that arose during those times, trust me the songs and slangs did their bit to reduce the heat. Several adverts flooded TV stations and though they focused on propagating the motives of the parties or even talked about failures of the incumbent government, they never lacked humour. It got some people excited and others even made their choices as to who to vote for. People were calmed down with their sights set on their choices. Kids my age absorbed these and never felt scared of political tension.

It was never a one-way affair but a friendly battle with vigilance for political power. Usually, it was (and still is) dominated by the two giants of Ghana’s politics; the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC). They displayed their tactics and counter tactics. Most of their tactics outside the media sometimes escalated into some war of words which had the tendency to cause disorder. Thanks to the swiftness and intelligence of the Ghana Police for dealing with these negative influences to ensure the permanency of peace.

After the 2004 general elections my political consciousness rose to a new level. As a young teen I began concentrating on leadership, policies and results. I became interested in what had been done, what was going to be done and who had the best policies to offer. I was readying myself for the day I would be eligible to vote. Infant consciousness was gradually paving way for matured consciousness. But my mind still had some space to accommodate the euphoric aspect. Now as an eligible voter I am definitely not the type who would vote for a particular party based on their witty ads, yet I still believe it has a lot to do to minimize tension. I have become the type who feels at ease watching such campaign ads. I still enjoy them. The friendly battle gets me relaxed. In a country like Ghana one always need such essentials to take a chill. The parties may be campaigning through those witty ads, but unknown to them, it gets people relaxed and drunk with euphoria.

2016 like other even numbered years on Ghana’s calendar, we go to the polls again to decide who should lead us for the next four years. That decision would be made on the 7^th of December. The heat is on! The political clasico has already commenced and the outcome at the end of 90 minutes would determine who our leaders (both presidential and parliamentary) would be. Personally the encounter so far has been boring to say the least. It is like watching Real Madrid and FC Barcelona play and only one side is dominant. There is tactics but there seem to be no counter tactics. In terms of possession the NDC is leading. Don’t switch my words around. Elections are not won by adverts and songs, it may possibly win a party some votes only if people buy into the idea been sold. However, most importantly it plays a vital role in cooling an already heated country. It usually goes unnoticed I must add though. Yet, we need it, some of us can relax with it and not necessarily vote for the particular party producing the wittiest advert. The kids also need it. In order to get their attention off the arguments and verbal attacks among some politicians through the media, such adverts can be of help. It is nice to see kids of today doing “no ababase” (no going back); a campaign by the ruling NDC to showcase their achievements and in effect tell us to maintain them in power. There is another character on TV always saying “JM toaso” (JM continue) after he has inspected some of the projects which were promised by the president. Kids and even grownups are doing “no ababase” and “JM toaso”. For the kids they are not even going to vote. Their focus is not on the long talks and arguments. All they know is playing with “no ababase”, moving their shoulders back and forth like canoe paddlers. Besides, that’s all they need, fun, just like I did during my time as a young boy. Some of the grownups may not even vote coming Dec 7, some may not be members or supporters of the ruling party, yet, they are engaging in the “no ababase” or “JM toaso” movement just for the fun of it. If the D-day comes the eligible voters among them would vote for who they want. As to whether they would be wooed by the witty ads to elect a particular party, it is totally up to them. Moreover not all grownups pay much attention to policies. Let’s face it, this is Africa. This is far better than engaging in unnecessary arguments (on politics) at home and on the streets which may lead to a scuffle. The rate at which people become tensed up leading to some travelling out of the country just for safety is too much. We need more cooling systems (witty campaign adverts), just to show how peaceful and fun loving people we are during elections.

Nonetheless, I believe you would agree with me that this year’s campaign adverts have been a one-sided affair. The tactics of NDC have not been countered enough. It looks as if the opposition parties have decided to leave the ruling party to dominate possession. And this I must say has been very boring. One would have expected the NPP (NDC’s main rivals) especially to halve the possession. Being the biggest opposition party, they have made a lot of claims about corruption and failed promises and it would have been nice to see how they script an advert out of it. Maybe they are waiting for the right time to launch an aggressive media campaign. Or, this is their strategy for this year’s election. Reports indicate that they are covering a lot of grounds, meeting people one-on-one and telling them why they should be voted back. “No funfair this time, let’s meet the people convince them with our policies and I believe they would accept us”, I assume Nana Addo would be telling his charges. So while the NDC jumps to Shatta Wale’s “Mahama Paper”, the NPP is knocking on our doors to spread their word. Besides, their “GO GO HIGH” song with the kangaroo dance in the 2008 general elections brought them nothing but a fall before an NDC led by a good old professor.

The one-sidedness of this year’s campaign ads may continue till the final whistle is blown by Madam Charlotte Osei. Electoral victory depends on which strategy best suits your team and most importantly the people’s choice. Everyone is holding their cards close their chest and waiting for the next move. Whether the opposition parties would gather momentum and start closing the gap between them and the ruling government, Ghana would still vote.  Having observed the TV campaigns so far, I have a feeling the 2016 general election is likely to go down as a very boring clasico with an interesting result. In case you are wondering who will emerge winner, it’s going to be us, Ghana.