WHAT THE PEOPLE SAY

AMA ASARE (UNIVERSITY OF GHANA, LEGON) “ Without further delay I call on the various factions in the Ivorian electoral dispute to come together and put in place measures towards the organization of fresh elections.They need to go over the entire process. Anything apart short of that would not bring the peace we want to prevail in La Cote d’Ivoire. Before this is done trust-worthy people who have been proven not to have any interest in the outcome of election in that country must be brought in to handle the election. The Western media must also desist from inflaming passions. Much of what they reported was based on their imaginations and not a true reflection of what was taking place in that country. There must certainly be a re-run of the elections.” MARK KOFFIE (UNIVERSITY OF GHANA, LEGON) “ From all that I have read and heard on the airwaves, I am convinced that the source of the problem to the crises in La Cote d’Ivoire had its roots in the constitution of that country. Why was it...

JAMAL NASAMU (UNIVERSITY OF GHANA, LEGON) “ We as Africans need to take decisive action on issues of electoral disputes and malpractices because they are becoming just too many. As of now it is only the President of Botswana who has spoken out concerning the electoral dispute in Cote de I’voire. Why is it that the rest of the African leaders have not been able to speak out boldly on this issue? They have all done it before. They have all in one way or the other denied winning candidates from taking over. Blaise Campaore came to power in 1986 and has done everything to entrench himself in office so how can anybody rely on this man to talk about democracy or contribute towards finding solutions to the problem in La Cote de I’voire? The whole world is witness to how the current President of Nigeria, Jonathan Goodluck and his late boss Umaru Musa Yar’adua were smuggled into office, yet these are the men who want to tell us whether one has won elections fairly or not.” VAN-DYKE JORDAN (UNI...

" I think the tendency of a judge to pronounce one innocent even when he or she might be guilty is natural and often happens psychologically. The circumstances of a person at the time a crime is committed can also determine the outcome of the trial against that person. As a judge if a pregnant woman is brought before me for having committed murder, i do not think i would send her to the gallows. In the first place she is caring a child who did not take part in the crime. In this case the appropriate thing to do would be for me to give her a minimal sentence of say 6 months especially if it is a crime of passion. We are humans and our feelings and emotions are very much likely to influence our decision making."                                                                                S...

"I have always held this belief that judges in this country are are not fair. They see white and mention blue. How can one be a judge and hold allegiance to a political party. I strongly recommend a clean up exercise of the courts and it must take place now. There is a lot of rot . Any lawyer you speak to even the most corrupt of them all,would give you a hint of what is happening at the courts. All you need to do is to find yourself in the "Good Books" of a judge and that is all. However this state of affairs cannot remain forever. There are two options,either the Chief Justice takes a closer look at herself and weed out the bad ones or the people themselves begin to strategize and draw plans for her removal."                                                                                ...