Programmes Officer at the Centre for Democratic Development-Ghana (CDD-Ghana), Vera Abena Addo, has criticised the Electoral Commission (EC) for what she calls “inconsistencies” in the handling of the Ablekuma North electoral dispute.
Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday, July 5, she expressed concern over the EC’s decision-making process and its legal grounding.
“For me, I think the inconsistencies from the Electoral Commission are not helping matters,” she said. “The alternative arrangement we are using with the scanned copies these are not based on any law, rules or protocols. It is based on building consensus with the parties.”
Her remarks come amid controversy over the EC’s decision to re-run the election in some 19 polling stations in the constituency, as an approach to resolving issues surrounding the disputed parliamentary results.
The High Court had earlier directed the EC to return and collate results from 62 polling stations that had not been included. Out of the 62, the EC announced it was able to recount results from 43 stations, but indicated a need to re-run the election in the remaining 19.
She blamed the EC for not returning to the High Court before taking the new decision, “If you are not able to build consensus, then it means you have to go back to the same court for direction,” she insisted. “You can’t just take this decision. At one point, you said you just need security, and at another point, you come back and say you are going to rerun elections,” she added.
She also questioned the legitimacy of the EC’s engagement with political parties. “The IPAC meeting that the EC said the parties have come to agreement you issue a press release, and the next moment the NPP says they did not agree to that. It raises a question about how issues and agreements at IPAC are being documented.”
Addo stressed that decisions of such importance must be backed by clear rules and broader consultation. “If you go back to run the elections without any rules or protocols, you set a precedent that you may not be able to follow.”
She said that the EC’s actions risk undermining confidence in the electoral process. “This is a very important matter, and I thought the EC shouldn’t have issued us this decision, only for another party to go to court to stop the arrangement, especially when this arrangement is not based on any law.”
DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
