The role of the media in the success or otherwise of critical public institutions such as the Electoral Commission (EC) is enormous and obvious. It is for this reason that we salute the initiative of the executives of the Ghana Journalists’ Association (GJA) paying a courtesy call on the Chairperson of the EC last Wednesday as a step in the right direction. The leverage this would have in nurturing and cementing the bond between the media and the EC is beyond dispute.
The executives would not have embarked on such a venture were the Chairperson’s posture exude the kind of hubris associated with her predecessor.
We can state that the GJA President and his executives were enamored of the mission because they find in the EC Chairperson one eager to ensure the success of the office she is occupying by all means including opening her doors to the media and those germane to the operations of the Commission.
The signs about the future of election management in the country are by the unfolding developments at the EC not portentous: halcyon days are beckoning.
Shabby management of elections in Africa and many countries in Asia are responsible for the restive features of these parts of the world. It is important therefore that those who are put in charge of such critical institutions put negative traits aside and concentrate on this critical attribute of democracy-elections steeped in integrity.
We know how close the country got to the precipice as a result of mistrust of the managers of elections, a situation which fed on the negative testimonial of the officials. The revelations which resonated on the public space when the erstwhile managers of the EC washed their dirty linen in public said it all about the quality of service they rendered the country when they were at the helm.
We do not have skepticism about the quality of the lady in charge of the EC, who with her commissioners can deliver credible elections in the country. At a time when cynics thought they could not deliver a hitch-free referendum they proved such daydreamers wrong by the resounding victory they posted.
The EC Chairperson’s plan of dropping the fee-paying accreditation for media coverage of elections; hints about which she dropped during her engagement with the GJA executives, was heartwarming and constitutes another sign of good things to come the way of election management in the country.
The bellicose relationship between the previous managers and their publics presented us with a picture which over time looked like a standard. Now we are beginning what the bond should be between the EC and the rest of Ghanaians for whom the entity exists.
Those who are put in charge of the EC should not be emotional sadists who can look Ghanaians in the eyes and tell them ‘we saw it, we liked it and chose it’ after a smelly unilateral decision in dropping the Coat Of Arms supporting the logo of the Commission.
We can smile that the stressful days of the abuse of the independence of the EC have given way to halcyon ones and hence a bright future for democracy. The experience in managing presidential debates in the country and providing the exceptional leadership which gave the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) the status of the foremost civil society organization in the country, is certainly going to impact positively on the EC and we are beginning to observe this reality already.