Eight days more to Ghana’s election run-off between the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Party (NDC); most Ghanaians predicted that the election race will be between the two parties. We were right. Ghana gradually seems to be approaching a two party state.

This is the second time these two parties are having a run off. The first happened in the 2000 elections and the partterns of desperate acts during the 3-week waiting period though different in content are similar in situations.

At the time NDC was in power and just like the NPP before this December 7th elections, the NDC thought they were going to have a landslide victory only to realise too late that Ghanaians were fed up with their inefficiencies and insults to the electorate’s intelligence.

Now it’s the NPP’s turn to suffer a similar blow. They had expected a one-touch victory only to recoil in shock and disbelief during the declaration of results. They,in spite of their promotion of democratic freedoms in Ghana,especially in speech and association, have also allowed power to corrupt and blind them to the needs and sentiments of the electorate and are behaving just like the NDC.

During this year’s (2008) December 7th elections NPP suffered what I call the punishment vote blow;and Instead of them sitting up, thinking hard and taking right and honourable actions to win back the affections of the electorate, they got desperate and did desperate things such as “finally” slashing fuel prices when prices were reduced weeks before and nothing had been done about it. Of course the predictable reaction of the electorate was “What do you take us for?”

There’s more. The NPP has been going down on its knees begging voters not to punish them again; promising to be of better behaviour. Oh, and they have also been ordering prisoners out of jail. Three weeks to run-off elections- what development! But I love democracy: the only system that allows the electorate to fight the politicians with their thumbs.

The NDC are also doing their bit of rubbing NPP’s face deeper into the mud by accusing the NPP of planning to rig the elections and pointing out all their horrible faults. Politics sure can be such a dirty game - even as it can be purely entertaining from a detached point of view.

By the way I digress, but not entirely. I started by talking about the possibility of Ghana becoming a two-party state. And why not when it’s such fun to watch politicians make fools of themselves. I will not be surprised if by the third or fourth general elections a referendum is organised for Ghanaians to decide whether they want a two party state or a multi-party one.

Politicians will never cease to amaze me; but those who really do the mind blowing for me are the electorate.

God Bless Ghana!