John Mahama
The flagbearer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), ex-President John Dramani Mahama, has spoken out against the Electoral Commission’s (EC) proposal to shift the date of the presidential and parliamentary elections.
According to him, such a major electoral reform should not be implemented during an election year since it can cause chaos if not handled properly.
Mr. Mahama stated at a breakfast meeting with some clergymen and Christian community leaders in Koforidua the Eastern Region, yesterday that what the EC is attempting to do does not seem appropriate.
“What the EC does sometimes does not sound right. Since we voted in 2020 and now it’s left with just nine months to this year’s general elections, you are now coming up with major changes, saying they will not introduce indelible ink and all that,” he said.
“If you do that you don’t build the confidence of the people in the electoral process. They are also saying they want to shift the election date and bring a new C.I. to change the old C.I. What we’re saying is that, why wait till now? You don’t spring surprises on people like that,” the NDC leader asserted.
The EC had announced that about 60% of political parties have endorsed its proposal to hold this year’s elections in November.
Deputy Chairman of the EC in charge of Corporate Services, Dr. Bossman Eric Asare, who disclosed this, indicated that at an Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meeting held on Monday the parties urged the Commission to proceed with the plan provided it can be legally implemented.
He added, however, that the majority of the parties agreed that if the EC is unable to carry out the process this year, it should start in 2028.
“So in principle, all the parties that attended IPAC yesterday were for it for 2028. But for 2024, almost 60% of the parties, more than half of the parties, said if it will be possible for the EC to go through the legal processes to have it implemented this year, let’s go ahead,” Dr. Asare indicated in an interview.
According to him, the EC will be able to come through on all the legal requirements needed to hold the elections in November.
“Looking at our calendar, we are pretty sure that we will be able to do everything, whatever it takes to ensure that we go through the legal process,” Dr. Asare intimated.
He added that the EC is not the final determinant because implementation must go through the Attorney General’s Department and Parliament’s approval.
“But as I said, as far as we are concerned, whatever we need to do, whatever is necessary, whatever is proper that must be done to ensure that we are able to consummate it and have the elections, we are well able to do that,” Dr. Asare noted.
Already, the NDC and some political parties have rejected the proposal, highlighting the EC’s limited time to hold a peaceful poll.
The NDC’s Director of Elections and ICT, Dr. Edward Omane Boamah, said the EC must proceed with caution.
He said that the overwhelming agreement was that, given everything the EC has to do between now and the next presidential and parliamentary elections, it would be taking on more than it could do.
“As an institution, if it wanted to add the needed parliamentary processes to change the date for the elections, it’s something that we all discussed, and we are all men and women of faith,” he posited.
By Ernest Kofi Adu