A Private legal practitioner, Dennis Osei Dwomoh, is asking the Electoral Commission to provide the legal basis for altering its logo, saying the Commission’s Chairperson has set a bad precedent by changing a national emblem without legal backing.
The new logo, which appeared in place of EC’s original logo, had generated intense debate with some members of the public suggesting that the Commission should not have altered the original one.
While others have criticized the new logo as not being original, others said it is of poor quality and did not communicate the functions of the commission.
[contextly_sidebar id=”h54gx3DV0LbEtqHHBveE4jSRZpihaaAI”]But despite the public backlash, the EC Chairperson Charlotte Osei has told Ghanaians they chose they logo, they like it and are happy with it.
Speaking on Eyewitness News, lawyer Dennis Osei Dwomoh wondered whether the EC’s decision was taken in accordance with law.
“The criminal code makes it an offence to alter any words or publish any writing with the intent to ridicule the official national flag of this country or any emblem of Ghana. In that regard, if the EC’s logo is agreed as an emblem of Ghana, it therefore raises the serious issue that in terms of it being changed, in which it seeks to affect the emblem of Ghana, it must be done in accordance with the law. The issue I have with it is to find out whether it was done in accordance with the public procurement act,” he argued.
The lawyer however could not state on record whether he would wish to pursue the matter in court.
EC has set a bad precedent
He however said the EC had set a bad precedent, asking whether the President could get up one day and say that he did not like the country’s national flag and alter it.
“…So does it mean the Chief Justice Georgina Wood can also get up one day and change the logo of the judiciary?” I don’t think this is how we want to go” he argued.
Controversy over new logo
Some critics have also said the timing of the new logo was improper considering that the commission has a financial task of organizing the November 7 elections.
President Mahama recently waded into the debate, asking Ghanaians to leave the Chairperson of the Commission to discharge her duties without any public interference.
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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @EfeAnsah