I stepped out at 11 am last Tuesday to go and exercise my franchise at the District and Unit Committee elections that was going on.  I thought that at forenoon, any queues would have died down. I did not have anyone in mind as a preferred candidate but I felt it a national duty to go and cast my vote anyway.

Female agenda

Unlike some people I have since interacted with, I knew the elections were coming up even though no candidate had knocked at my gate to solicit for votes. My instinct, however, was to turn up at my polling station on Tuesday, December 17 with the female agenda foremost on my mind.

I was taken aback as I got to my polling station. The place was too quiet for what it is characteristically known to be during elections.  But for three uniformed servicemen I sighted at the premises and a demarcated area with polling booths, I would have walked away with my voter’s card. Had people already come and voted or they are yet to come? I soliloquized as I was led to a desk for verification.

Having verified my name and having gone through the due processes, I was elated to see on the ballot paper, a picture of one woman among two men.  My job for selection was made easy.  I did not waste time completing my national assignment.

Other voting centres

My curiosity was piqued. I wanted to know what was going on at other polling centres. I visited four other polling stations around my area and even continued outwards to Gbawe and McCarthy Hill, both in the west of Accra, to observe. I experienced practically empty polling stations wherever I stopped with Electoral Commission (EC) officers idling about. Where were all those voters who crowd out polling stations during general elections? Had apathy set in? Did people not know about the December 17 district elections?

A few things came to mind. Creeping apathy was one of them. We had heard and seen in the media complains and agitations by communities and individuals who insisted that they would not vote again in any elections due to seeming insincerity on the party of politicians over the years. But is not the way to go?

General voting

We have come a long way with elections in this country. We are still building our democracy. Election of officers to take charge of our economy whether at the national or local level is one of them. Indeed, local level elections are critical to our governance structure and should be promoted even stronger with the elected working more closely to the electorate.

Civic responsibility

We definitely cannot afford to be passive when it comes to electing the people we want to commit the destiny of our nation. It is a civic responsibility incumbent on us to be good active citizens and not passive spectators. For as long as we pay taxes, we have equal say in who should be at the helm of affairs in our nation.

Some have argued that the district elections held last Tuesday is a microcosm of the December 2020 general election. I shudder to agree. If we have the welfare and prosperity of our beautiful Ghana at heart, the general election is a time for deep reflection, a time to think through and select the men and women we would like to leave the destiny of our country to. We want progression to a twenty-first-century Ghana.

With the majority of our population being Christians, it goes without saying that the majority of voters are Christians too. The casting of votes to elect leaders should mean a lot to us. It is a command. Christians are also aware that in the creation story recounted in Genesis, God, after creating everything and seeing how beautiful His work was, decided to create man and for that matter woman, to manage the beautiful creation. So why should we sit aloof and not see the selection of the men and women to manage our beautiful Ghana as a civic responsibility and a Godly right?

It is time to reflect on the district elections and take apathy away, going forward. That kind of attitude would hurt us badly and the consequences could be regrettable.  We have 11 solid months to reflect and make amends for election 2020. The only good thing to cherish about December 17 local elections, however, is the peace we enjoyed. No flashpoints, no screaming and definitely no swearing. We can do it for 2020 and in our numbers too.

A blessed Christmas holiday to all my readers.

Writers email: vickywirekoandoh@yahoo.com