Asiedu Nketia scoffs EC as NDC pushes for serious reforms to election management
The opposition National Democratic Congress appears to be leaving no stone unturned concerning the recent proposals they made.
The party’s General secretary Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketiah in a media briefing on Tuesday 24th August 2021 slammed the electoral commission again for referring them to Inter party advisory committee to address the recent proposals they made.
He said ‘’ they failed to do proper situation analysis and it defies logic’’ his issue is stemming from the fact that the NDC has presented some proposals but the electoral commission rather chose to focus closing time during election days.
He reiterated the fact the electoral commission should focus on the other pertinent issues they raised in the proposal and not just the closing time of elections.
Mr Asiedu Nketia also stressed that the reform proposals, together with the supplementary reform proposals that may be submitted, are meant to be used to undertake a dispassionate and open discussion and review of the Electoral Commission’s operations.
“They are aimed at contributing to a national conversation on electoral reforms against the background of critical and lingering cross-party dissatisfaction with the electoral process (NB: all previous and current EC’s have been subject to intense attack from the Political Parties over the period).
“We hope that the Government will initiate the necessary steps to operationalize especially the 3 flagship reform recommendations in Part A of our Proposals as well as the recommendations of the Constitutional Reform Commission.
“We also hope that you, the media, will disseminate these reform proposals as widely as possible to enable as many of our countrymen and women to participate in the national conversation.”
The reform proposals of the NDC include:
• The silence of the reform proposals on the issue of the increasing “monetization” of electoral politics in Ghana is deafening.
• The proposed Office of the Regulator of Political Parties (ORPP) should be re-designated “Multi-Party Democracy Commission (MPDC) with an expanded mandate to address the pathologies of the political system and to monitor the health of Ghana’s democracy, especially in periods in between elections.
• The proposed name of the ORPP should be changed to “Political Parties Regulatory Commission” (PPRC).
• There should be a cap on political party funding for electoral campaigns.
• The NDC’s engagement with stakeholders should be broadened into a “National Consultation on Electoral Reforms”.
• The membership of the EC should be technocratic rather than political with the membership positions being advertised, candidates interviewed and the most suitable persons appointed.
• There should be criteria to sieve out registered but inactive and moribund political parties and political parties that do not appear to be serious from the electoral process and from membership of the IPAC.
• The proposed Election Adjudication Committees (EACs) should be given a time frame within which to finish their work.
• The NDC should keep faith with Ghanaians and implement its reform proposals when it finds itself in government and the proposals have not been implemented at that time.
• The NDC may wish to secure the buy-in of other political parties before the proposals are tabled at a meeting of either the EC or the IPAC.
• The military must not be deployed in civilian elections under any circumstances whatsoever.
• The Legal and Technical Sub-Committees of the IPAC should be revived when the IPAC is restructured and becomes fully functional.
• If official legislative backing for the IPAC proves difficult, an MP or MPs should sponsor a Private Member’s Bill to that effect.
• There should be a mechanism to reduce the incidence of “spoilt ballots” during elections.
By: Stella Annan | myactiveonline.com Twitter @activetvgh
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