The fly that refuses to listen to admonitions of the elders follows the corpse to the grave. The very eyes which have seen the sky are the same eyes which will see the ocean. The Apostle Paul tells us that all things are lawful unto him but it is not everything that is expedient to him. Thus, one has to be extremely careful with his/her actions and inactions in order not to create problems for in future. The Electoral Commission under Dr Afari Djan has grown from strength to strength and played very yeoman roles in the political lives of Ghanaians. It has become the cynosure of all eyes and one of the most respected institutions on the African Continent, whose services are sought after. But of late, I have observed a certain trait of intolerance and arrogance gradually seething through the pores of the Commission. It has now become a fearful instrument through which political parties are controlled, intimidated and manipulated into unquestioning loyalty and diabolical submission. The actions and utterances of top officials of the commissions bring to mind whether it has the interest of the nation at heart. The Wulensi and the Kwabre West Bye Elections: Wherein lies the wisdom in conducting elections in these two constituencies whose elected Members of Parliament will spend only three weeks in office. Parliament will soon go on recess to reconvene somewhere in October or so. It will then be dissolved after a three week sitting to enable members go and campaign in their various constituencies for the December election. This issue was tabled before the Electoral Commission by representatives of the various political parties. But instead of listening to their complaints, the Commission, like Pontius Pilate sat on the judgement seat to decree that not even Jupiter could dissuade them from their chosen course to Golgotha. The parties would either have to abide by the dictates of the EC or forfeit their chance of participating in the elections in these two constituencies. Thus the various parties, like lambs being led to the slaughter have to tag along. The parties are spending too much on this sham election for whoever wins any of the two elections would come to realize that it is only a Pyrrhic victory not worth rejoicing over. The coffers of the EC will swell with payment of nomination fees. The parties will spend money on their campaigns. The parties will engage one another in unnecessary arguments some of which will degenerate into fisticuffs and upper cuts. The Electoral Commission will provide logistics in various ways. Security will be provided at various polling stations in both constituencies. And all these will cost a lot of money. At the end of the whole charade of an exercise, the winners will come to realize that they can only represent their constituencies for three weeks only! Is this not the greatest “ojuro” (scam) of the century? Call it what you want, but I say this is not our number one priority at the moment. We have numerous problems begging for solutions and the Electoral Commission thinks conducting these two bye elections is the best it could spend our taxes on. I make bold to ask again. Is conducting these two bye elections our urgent priority? Government says it has no monies to prosecute the Nsawam-Suhum-Apedwa Road Project. Wouldn’t it be a wise idea if these two bye elections are suspended and the amount earmarked for the conduct of these elections be channeled into the construction of this all important road project to bring succor to those who use the road. I know it is just an infinitesimal part of the total amount involved, but single drops of water make a mighty ocean. It will surely go a long way to mitigate the sufferings of those who ply the roads. A way out of the quagmire: The EC should dialogue with the various Political Parties and come to a compromise so that the elected MPs should continue to represent their Constituencies in the next Parliament. Nigeria has this system in place and the Supreme Court of the Court has given a ruling on it. Recently, about two or so weeks ago, there was a Gubernatorial Election in Edo State of Nigeria where the incumbent Governor, from the opposition Action Congress of Nigeria trounced the candidate of the PDP Federal controlled Government by more than three hundred thousand votes. Over there, the tenure of a Governor, Member of the House of Representative or State House of Assembly or the Senate depends on when he/she was elected. General Elections were held in all the States of the Federation in 2007. But the election of the PDP Governor of Edo State was voided by the Election Tribunal on grounds of election irregularities in 2008. So when General Elections were held last year, that of Edo States was put on hold, because Adams Oshiomole, the Governor had then been on the seats for only three years. In Nigeria, the tenure of office of elected political officials is Four Years. Last year, there was Gubernatorial Elections in almost all the States of the Federation, with the excerption of Edo, Ekiti, Oshun, and a few States whose Governors had been removed by various Election Tribunals. Edo State has had it own this year. Other states will have theirs after their Governors have “chopped” four years in office. Ghana can follow such trend, which I believe will be a step in the right direction. All that is needed is to amend the constitution or hold a dialogue with the various state holders. But if we cleave stubbornly to the status quo, we might as well agree with the saying that “Ghanaians spend on pleasures and beg for necessities”. I do not think that conducting elections in both the Wulensi and the Kwabre West Constituencies in the manner as stipulated by the Electoral Commission will be a wise decision. There are many pressing issues needing our attention than holding bye elections in these two constituencies. My Verdict: The Electoral Commission should engage all stakeholders, including civil societies in a dialogue on the issue so that whoever is elected in the bye elections will continue to represent their respective constituencies in the next parliament. In the alternative, the Electoral body should shelve any idea of conducting bye election now and the money so accrued from such a “suspension” be channeled into the construction of the Nsawam-Suhum-Apedwa Road Project. Creation of New Constituencies: We have barely four and a half months to a General Election and the Electoral Commission is playing a macabre dance with our political destiny, by attempting to create new constituencies. Do we need this at this very moment? Why can’t it wait until after the elections are over? What does the EC hope to gain by this dance of death? Has the EC sat down to analyze the overall implications of this decision? Why look for a ghost where there is none? Why does the Electoral Commission want to fish in troubled waters? Afari Djan says the Constitution mandates his Commission to review Constituencies after every census. I totally agree with him. But does review mean the creation of new constituencies only? I don’t think so. It goes beyond that. Does the constitution give any time lapse for the creation of new constituencies? When was the census completed? So many months ago! When were the official figures of the census published? A few months ago! If it took more than one year for the Statistical Service to come out with the official census figures, why is the Electoral Commission rushing to create new constituencies now? I believe review also has to do with correcting the discrepancies that exist amongst constituencies some of which have less than 5000 people with others having as high as 50,000 and over. This is what should engage the attention of the Electoral Commission. Yes, the EC should merge some constituencies and create new ones. Yes, this is the mandate given to the Electoral commission. Let me illustrate this with what is obtainable in the United States. There are two Chambers in the US Law making body. There are 50 States in the United States and some few “possessions” which are yet to attain States’ status. Each of the States is represented by Two Senators. Representation in the House of Representatives is based on population and is fixed by law at not more than 435 proportionally representing the population in the 50 States. Five Delegates, one each representing the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Island are included in the total 435. California has the largest number of Representatives (53) followed by Texas with 32 (23 Republicans and 9 Democrats), followed by New York with 29(8 Republicans, 21 Democrats) and Florida with 25 (19 Republicans and 6 Democrats) with the least representation coming from North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, Montana, Delaware and Alaska with one representation each. Based on the National Census of 1910, a law was enacted in 1911, pegging the upper limit of the House to 435 members. Since the population was fixed, but the population kept growing, instead of a Congress Person representing 300,000 citizens as the Constitution had previously established, a Congress Person now represents 600,000 and more persons. The United States’ population of 311 million people in mid 2011 has 435 members representing 50 States and its possessions in the House of Representatives. Nigeria with a population of over 155 million people has 360 members representing 36 States of the Federation. Both countries have enormous resources at their disposal. Ghana with less than 26 million people and going by the dictates of the Electoral Commission is now going to have 275 members of Parliament! What are we going to do with such a large number? Have we taken into consideration their emoluments and other expenditure that go with their offices? What about their terminal benefits? If every MP is going to take home something around C800, 000,000.00 at the end of every four years (and I bet, the amount is going to increase) what would happen to our national coffers if the number is increased to 275? And mind you, this is not the end for if we are to go by Afari Djan’s logic, we shall continue to create more constituencies at the end of every Ten years. At the rate at which new constituencies are being created, we should not be surprised that one day a constituency might be created for a man and his harem. Yes, this is the simple truth! We need money to complete the Nsawam-Suhum-Apedwa Road Project. I am passionate about that. We should suspend the creation of new constituencies and channel the money that will be saved into this laudable project. Our descendants will praise us for that! The time has come for all of us to come together, irrespective of our political leanings, to deliberate dispassionately on the issue of creating new constituencies. There is the need to put a ceiling on the number just as we are advocating for a ceiling on the number of Justices that could be appointed to the Supreme Court. Let us also agree as to the minimum number that will constitute a constituency. At the end of every census, there must be re-alignment of constituencies and creation of new ones. The words of our elders are words of wisdom. The wise man hears and gets wiser. We cannot postpone to tomorrow what we can do for the country today. Afari Djan should pause and listen. The time to do so is now. He should know that if the lion runs and looks back, it does not mean it is afraid. It wants to know the distance it has covered.