The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has made the decision to re-join the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) following a plea made by the National Peace Council (NPC).
The party accepted the NPC’s request during a stock-taking conference held in Peduase, in the Eastern Region, on Thursday.
The purpose of the conference was to evaluate the progress of institutions in building the necessary resilience for credible, transparent, and peaceful general elections in 2024.
Since March 2020, the NDC had boycotted IPAC meetings due to their dissatisfaction with the Electoral Commission’s actions.
They accused the Commission of disregarding decisions made during IPAC meetings when implementing electoral reforms.
At the beginning of the conference in Peduase, Dr. Reverend Ernest Adu-Gyamfi, Chairman of the National Peace Council, appealed to the NDC to re-join IPAC in order to build consensus. The Council had held extensive engagements with both the Electoral Commission and the NDC on the matter, and they expressed hope that the NDC would make a declaration before the conclusion of the meeting.
In her remarks at the meeting, Mrs. Jean Mensa, Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, also appealed to the NDC to re-join IPAC.
She expressed the Commission’s commitment to welcoming the party back in order to strengthen Ghana’s democracy.
“We miss the fire of the NDC at IPAC meetings, and we invite them,” Mrs. Mensa said.
Responding to the call, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, National Chairman of the NDC, stated that the party is committed to supporting efforts in shaping the country’s democratic and electoral processes.
He accepted the invitation to re-join IPAC but stressed the importance of the Commission ensuring that IPAC returns to its “consensus-building” approach to implementing electoral reforms before the NDC’s participation in the next IPAC meeting.
“On behalf of the party, we accept the appeal from the National Peace Council that we should consider returning to IPAC, but we want to return to IPAC and not any other forum. The other side is for us to work to make sure that IPAC returns to its consensus-building days… the issues that blocked our return should be dealt with before our next IPAC meeting,” Mr. Nketiah explained.
He also expressed concerns about the Electoral Commission’s efforts to make the Ghana Card the sole identification document for the Commission’s proposed continuous voter registration exercise.
The NDC argued that this could potentially disenfranchise about 1 million voters, a claim the EC refuted.
“We will support it if everyone had the Ghana Card,” Mr. Nketiah added.
Ms. Kathleen Addy, Chairperson of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), emphasized the importance of unity and collaboration in the upcoming 2024 Election, particularly considering the political instability in the West Africa Sub-region.
“We are more vulnerable than before. We must work with each other and assure each other so that we can arrive at the elections and beyond the elections in peace and intact,” she urged.
The NDC’s decision to re-join IPAC is seen as a positive step towards fostering dialogue, consensus, and transparency in Ghana’s electoral processes.
By Vincent Kubi