The Institute of Economic Affairs(IEA) has urged the Electoral Commission (EC) to “abolish the strong room system” it operates during elections.
Ghana’s EC has designated a “special room” at its headquarters in Accra popularly known as the “strong room” for the collation of provisional results which are then cetified by the E.C.
It also serves as an avenue for the Chairmen of the Commission and a few representatives of the various political parties receive confirmation of results from their agents at the voting centers across the country before appending their signatures.
[contextly_sidebar id=”Fi4fZW1kjoTX4Tab7tQY2qbQ36ZM6Xyc”]But a Research Fellow of the Governance Unit of the IEA, Dr. Ransford Gyampo noted that the idea of the “strong room,” with usually very huge security presence “connotes negative and derogatory images that undermine transparency and electoral peace.”
According to Dr. Gyampo, some people perceive the “strong room” as a place where election results from the regions are sometimes “cooked or manipulated” in favour of a political party.
This according to the IEA Research Fellow, can be achieved by establishing a National Collation Centre which would be open and accessible to as many members of the political parties, the media, Civil Society Organizations and Election Observers as possible, but under controlled security in order to enhance the transparency of the national collation exercise.
He said a bigger venue that can accommodate about five hundred people is what is being recommended.
He suggested that “it should be possible for the work and activities being undertaken at the proposed National Collation Centre to be viewed live on the national television by Ghanaians.”
“The IEA believes that the conception of a ‘strong room’ with its rather derogatory connotations, is completely out of place in the discourse on transparent elections,”he stressed.
He therefore called on the EC to abolish its idea of ‘strong room’ to ensure increased transparency in the vote transmission, collation and authentication process.
“The IEA call for a replacement of the “strong room” with the National Collation Centre will not in any way compromise the autonomy and independence of the Electoral Commission. It would rather boost the image of the EC as a more credible and transparent body as well as reduce the high perception of, and sometimes, incidence of electoral fraud that have characterize elections in Ghana.”
By: Marian Efe Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana