Have confidence, trust in EC – Peace Council entreats political parties

The National Peace Council (NPC) has urged political parties and other interested parties to have faith in and increase confidence in the Electoral Commission (EC) in order to address issues or concerns with the electoral process.

The NPC said that the EC had among the most complex procedures in place to handle any issues pertaining to voter registration and conduct of elections, which must be utilized to allay the worries of interested parties.

“We must be careful the way and manner we portray the EC in our efforts to ensure transparency, fairness and credibility in its processes. Let us be careful not to push the EC into a situation where Ghanaians do not trust whatever the EC does,” the Executive Secretary of the NPC, George Amoh, told the Daily Graphic in an exclusive interview.

All Ghanaians, he added, including Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), had a part to play if the nation was to have credible elections. “Let us use the EC’s elaborate systems and laid down procedures to address our problems or concerns,” he said.

Voters’ registration

Speaking about the ongoing limited voter registration drive, the Executive Secretary of the NPC emphasized that “if you believe the person is a minor or a foreigner, use the laid down procedure to challenge the registration.” Political parties or their representatives, he said, did not need to look at an individual’s size or height to declare them to be a minor.

“We do not need to fight at registration centres,” he said. According to Mr. Amoh, all parties involved should support eligible individuals in registering rather than acting to prevent them from doing so.

He argued against generalizing about isolated incidents of violence, arrests, and intimidation that occurred at several of the registration centers. He stated, “We should all be law-abiding and allow the systems to work,” noting the significant financial consequences of using both political party agents and security staff.

He suggested that following the elections, the nation should hold a discussion to discuss and settle any unresolved matters.

IPAC

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has been favorably impacting the conversation, according to the Executive Secretary of the NPC, since its return to the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC), the venue for consensus formation.

He mentioned the somewhat chilly relationship between the NDC and EC and added, “We should build on this but we need to do more and we are hopeful that we will get there.” According to Mr. Amoh, the NPC created a forum for fostering trust among political parties, which it planned to utilize to resolve the parties’ concerns.