A ranking member of the Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee of Parliament, has suggested that the November 7 date tabled for the general elections, is still shrouded in uncertainty despite the his committee recommending a change of the December date.
The ranking member, Joseph Osei-Owusu, has argued that the Electoral Commission (EC) is so far not financially resourced to conduct the polls on November 7.
[contextly_sidebar id=”gVU2c8EvUdXzRtxAtXvKgLgJYLxnxQun”]He cited delays in the procurement of election materials and training of election officers as some of the many reasons why the polls on the new date might not be feasible.
The Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee of Parliament on Monday recommended the amendment of Article 112 (4) of the constitution, to allow the date of elections to be shifted forward from December 7 to the first Monday in November in election years.
But speaking to Citi News’ Awudu Mahama a day after the committee’s recommendation, Mr. Osei-Owusu expressed fears that, bringing forward the date for the elections to November 7, may be yet be problematic.
Committee, stakeholders remain unconvinced
According to Mr. Osei-Owusu, at the committee level, “All of us were not in agreement that everything will be okay so many expressed fears that the calendar itself that the EC presented, is so tight that indeed some of the dates for activities overlap, therefore should any slight error happen, there is the likelihood the elections cannot happen.”
He also revealed that “there were concerns and fears raised by practically all stakeholders that appeared before the committee.”
Mr. Osei-Owusu indicated that, the EC itself assured the committee that it will be able to deal with all the issues “but the committee observed that the word of mouth is not enough.”
Issues with funding
One of the main concerns raised by the committee pertained to the financing of the election, as Mr. Osei-Owusu indicated that, the almost Ghc700 million that government said it has released to the EC, may actually only be on paper.
“For example, financially, the alleged release of money is only a paper release. The actual sum of money is much less than what is announced to have been released up to the second quarter.”
“The biggest work of the committee requires finance for training, for equipment, for paying for printing of materials all in the third quarter, no release has been done, let alone disbursement. So it is not sufficient to just say money will be given or we are ready,” the ranking member added.
EC still planning with December in mind
Despite the push for the November 7 date for the 2016 elections, the EC has said it is working towards the elections with a December date in mind, and that voting could take place in November or the usual December 7 .
According to the Commission, it is putting measures in place to ensure that Ghanaians go to the polls in November, but is also working towards December, in case it is unable to meet the November deadline.
The Director of Electoral Services at the EC, Samuel Tetteh, has disclosed to the media that his outfit is “also working towards the 7th November, so that in case the 7th November goes through we can go by it, if not and its 7th December we can go by that. So both dates are possible but we are working towards the 7th November general elections.”
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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana