Former Chairman of the New Patriotic Party, Peter Mac Manu has asked the Electoral Commission (EC) to be accountable to Ghanaians by implementing the reforms recommended by the Supreme Court.
“I think the electoral commission is under the good people of Ghana, it is absolutely incorrect to say the EC is not bound by anybody’s control, they are under the control of the good people of Ghana who are represented by their people in parliament”
“When the EC makes the constitutional instrument, doesn’t it send it parliament for it to be reviewed, don’t the parliamentarian have the requisite law to refuse what they bring,” he noted.
The Supreme Court during the 2012 election petition case recommended that, the Electoral Commission implemented some electoral reforms to aid prevent misunderstanding in subsequent elections.
However, these reforms appears to have dragged as the EC insists they are still working on them.
Speaking on Eyewitness News, Peter Mac Manu bemoaned the slow nature of the EC’s work and called on the EC and added that, the Electoral Commission was currently running out of time.
“In this special case, the court recommended that certain key reforms should be implemented. But the EC has been walking at a shell pace and we have another election in 2016.”
He then cited flaws in the CI72 and called on the EC to hasten their work to prevent any violent clash in 2016.
“ In 2012 a lot of violence occurred in Odododiodio. There were resident of Ododiodio who resisted people from other parts of the country coming there to register.
“This was because under CI72 you have to be resident of an area before you can register there. If this resident and ordinary resident is not interpretated to us for us to understand the meaning of ordinary resident, then there is a problem”
Meanwhile, the Principal Public Relations Officer of the Electoral Commission, Sylvia Annor has dismissed claims the EC is dragging its feet to implement the proposed Electoral reforms and insisted the delay was due to an ongoing consultation between the EC and stakeholders.
“Electoral reforms are done over a period of time, because of the broad consultations on board. Particularly because of the stakeholders, the media, the political parties, general public, civil society organizations and government”
“The Electoral Commission cannot unilaterally go in for reforms without consulting the various stakeholders and that’s what culminated in the delay.”
By: Benjamin Epton Owusu/citifmonline.com/Ghana