A veteran politician, Professor Al-hassan Wayo Seini, has chastised politicians and political parties who take the Electoral Commission (EC) to the cleaners to advance their parochial political interests.

He said the political strategy of bastardising the EC was unjustifiable as the country had one of the most transparent electoral systems in the world.

“The country has a very transparent electoral system and that is why political parties find it very difficult to win election petitions in the courts.” he said.

He said if political parties wanted to win elections, they ought to focus on their campaign messages, and the polling day by making sure that people went out to vote instead of focusing on the EC, which he said had always performed its functions creditably.

“There is no need for us to misinform and create crisis.

There is no need to create tensions and fake news to achieve political objectives.

Sometimes, people do that because they know some members of the electorate are gullible,” he added.

Memoirs

Prof. Seini, who is one of the few politicians to have been a member of both the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC), made the comment during the launch of his memoirs.

Titled I speak my mind: Memoirs of a Diligent Ghanaian Politician, the book chronicles the experiences of Prof. Seini, as well as his viewpoints on some of the important figures and events in the history of the country.

The memoir is a 173 –page book, divided into nine chapters with three appendixes with each chapter focusing on a particular event, theme or political personality as seen through the lenses of Prof. Seini.

The colourful ceremony was attended by dignitaries such as the Pisigu-Naa, Naa Dr Alhassan Andani, who represented the Overlord of Dagbon, Ya-Na Abukari II; Chairman of the Council of Elders of the NPP, Hackman Owusu Agyeman; a former Minister of Defence, Dr Kwame Addo Kufuor, and a founder member of the NPP, Dr Nyaho Nyaho- Tamakloe.

During the auctioning of the book, Naa Dr Andani bought the first copy for GH¢20,000 on behalf of Yaa Naa Abukari II.

The Council of Elders of the NPP also bought a copy for GH¢10,000.

Themes

Major themes in the memoirs include Prof. Seini’s formative years, why he joined the Progress Party (PP) movement which birthed the NPP and why he left the NPP to the NDC and crossed carpets in Parliament to rejoin the NPP.

The book also focused on certain personalities such as former President John Agyekum Kufuor, whom the author described as the complete politician in the history of the country’s politics, and the journey of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in becoming President.

As a Dagomba, Prof. Seini also dedicated part of the memoir to explain the history of the Abudus and the Andanis and how the two groups had always co-existed peacefully because they were one, and the underlying factor that led to the conflict between them.

“What went wrong between the Abudus and the Andani’s?

It is more about politics, politics and politics,” he said.

Also in the book, Prof. Seini, who is a football enthusiast, gave the history of the Black Stars and their quest to qualify for the World Cup.

Great statesman

Naa Dr Andani, who launched the book, described Prof. Seini as a distinguished statesman and an illustrious son of Dagbon who had paid his dues to both his country and people and was an inspiration to the youth.

He said Yaa Naa Abukari II charges other Dagombas to write their memoirs to help guide and inspire the youth for the development of Dagbon and the country as a whole.

Source: GraphicOnline