This might be my final epistle before the December Elections. I must say, I may not be the subject matter expert in some of the issues I will raise but I am bringing them up based on the experience some of us had during the 2016 elections. We were wining the elections until we lost it on the Elections Day.
1. No serious elections are won without the assembling of cyber security experts. Joe Biden won in US due in part to his cyber security team. Election victory is a process and the cyber security team is part of the process. I hope the NDC has taken this process seriously and have worked on it. Cyber security experts don’t collate election results.
2. Information Technology (IT) Team: I hope the NDC has assembled a team of IT experts, who are ready to give us our provisional results within a certain time frame. We had a bitter experience when our collation center broke down in two hours after the polls were closed. We don’t want the IT department to tell us stories this time around. They had four years to get themselves ready for December 7, 2020 and we expect them to deliver. Designing an excel spreadsheet is not good enough. They should find ways and means to protect their equipment as well.
3. Training of polling agents: I hope the NDC has well trained their polling agents and have put in place all arrangements to deliver their food to them on time. We are aware of how in 2016, some polling agents left their station in search of food in town. Some also accepted food from the NPP, as a result, they got compromised. If we don’t take very good care of our polling agents, all the work we have done in this four years, will come to zero. I hope ALL of our polling agents know that they will be our watchmen, our dogs and our camera on December 7.
4. Traveling expenses and Transportation: I am aware the NDC put a plan to reduce mass transportation on Elections Day. Even though this plan was there, some people still travelled to their home towns to register. They may therefore need traveling expenses or transportation to go back and vote. This is a delicate issue but considering what happened in 2016, NDC should know that every vote counts. Arrangements for transportation should be done by now.
5. Monitors: Another important team on Elections Day are the monitors. The monitoring team should monitor across board and they should monitor everything. I hope they have also been given the necessary training to deliver on December 7. We left a lot of stones unturned in 2016 but we should not do so in 2020.
6. Get out to vote: Americans have a “get out to vote” strategy. What this does is they assemble volunteers and find them a room with at least ten phones. These volunteers vote early on Election Day and by 12 noon, they start calling all Democrats to either remind them to vote or arrange for a pick up to get them to vote. NDC may adopt this strategy if we want it to be part of our winning process. It is not too expensive to implement but very effective in getting people to vote.
I am working closely with my constituency executives and the parliamentary candidate. I know what NDC is planing to do on Elections Day but the most important of all is VIGILANCE. This election is over if NDC will connect the dots and be Fearless and Vigilant. We should also be prepared for violence in our strongholds. All said and done, I swell total victory for NDC on December 7.
Eye Zu, Eye Za. Aba no, Mahama afa.
Dr. Lawrence is the Founder of the Diaspora Progressive Movement in USA