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  • EC directs NDC to put its proposed electoral reforms before IPAC

    EC directs NDC to put its proposed electoral reforms before IPAC

    The Jean Mensah-led Electoral Commission has directed the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) to table its proposed electoral reforms before the Interparty Advisory Committee (IPAC) for dialogue.

    The Commission said it is open to suggestions and feedback to enhance the country’s electoral process but insists IPAC is the appropriate forum for such suggestions.

    The directive was after the EC took delivery of the NDC’s proposals.

    “We don’t deal with individual parties, and IPAC is designed to promote multi-party views, so IPAC is the right forum for such discussion.

    “So we responded to their proposals and asked the party to bring it to IPAC,” it said.

    The Commission further explained the decision to ask the NDC to table its suggestion before IPAC was arrived at during a top Management meeting over the suggestions.

    But the EC also observed that some of the suggestions captured in the NDC’s proposal go beyond its mandate.

    It argued that, “there are some of the issues which are constitutional matters and that would require constitutional amendments and execution from the executive arm of government.”

    Some of the issues the Commission listed as not being part of their mandate include, among others.

    1. Specially-designated courts should be appointed exclusively for electoral disputes and offences before, during and after registration of voters and elections.

    2. Split the EC into two separate bodies, namely an Office for the Regulation of Political Parties (ORPP) and an Electoral Commission (EC) by amending the Political Parties Act, 2000, Act 574.

    3. Provide for prior parliamentary approval for the appointment of EC members.

    But the commission, says the suggestions which have a direct nexus on their operations would be looked at.

    “The Electoral Commission always wants to be the best, and so we are for anything that would enhance the electoral process.

    “When the NDC finally submits its electoral reforms to IPAC, we will look at the issues holistically and decide on them.”

    The Commission added, “Regional collation centres in our own estimations were good, and that would have been continued-nevertheless if there’s an opportunity to improve, it would be available to do so.”

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  • 3. So-called Proposed Reforms by the EC

    3. So-called Proposed Reforms by the EC

    Hon. Elvis Ankrah Afriyie Reveals the Critical Analysis of the So-called Proposed Reforms by the EC

    So-called Proposed Reforms

    The Ghanaian Politician and Former Minister of Youth and sports, Hon. Elvis Ankrah Afriyie reveals the so-called Achievement and Proposed Reforms by the EC in her speech at IPAC.

    According to the Ghanaian Politician of the NDC, we have taken note of some proposals for reforms that the Electoral Commission has put forward for the consideration of IPAC. However, the first and most important reform required is for the EC to reform itself. Jean Mensa and Bossman Asare must be the first to reform and change their attitude of arrogance and bias.

    Ladies and gentlemen of the media, I will now proceed to do a critical and objective analysis of the four (4) reform proposals put forward by the EC.

    So-called Proposed Reforms

    So-called Proposed Reforms


    1. Closure of polls at 3 pm in 2024


    Ladies and gentlemen of the media, the NDC finds the proposal by the Jean Mensah-led EC to change the closing time of polls from 5 PM to 3 PM in 2024 baffling and mind-boggling. Since the 1992 elections, polls have always closed at 5 PM. This has worked perfectly without any challenges whatsoever. It, therefore, beggars belief that the EC would want to change this time-tested arrangement and go for a poorly thought-through alternative which is bound to disenfranchise eligible voters and create needless problems for our electoral system.

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    This is particularly so given the undue delay we usually record in the delivery of electoral materials to some polling stations and other technical challenges that usually characterize voting in this country.


    Ghanaians will recall how a similar hasty decision by the EC to declare results within 24 hours after closure of polls in the 2020 elections failed miserably and led to the rushed declaration of a patently flawed results that yielded a percentage aggregate of more than 100%, by the Returning Officer, Mr. Jean Adukwei Mensah. One would have thought that Jean Mensah would have learnt the right lessons by now but that appears not to be the case.



    Friends form the media, our position on this proposal is simple. The current arrangement of closing polls at 5 PM has worked perfectly in seven (7) general elections in this country and does not require any fixing. Like the Chairperson said in her speech, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”.



    2. Substitution of periodic mass registration with continuous registration.


    We wish to remind the Electoral Commission that the all-round continuous registration of eligible voters is not new. The law requires the Commission to put in place mechanisms to ensure that at any time that citizens become eligible to vote, they can be registered.


    However, continuous registration cannot be a substitute for periodic nationwide registration because the all-round registration can only be done at the district offices of the Electoral Commission. Eligible voters may have to travel several kilometers to district offices to register and not everyone can do this.


    Secondly, political parties always assign agents to observe the voters registration process. It will therefore be ludicrous for the EC to suggest that political parties should employ permanent agents at their district offices to observe the registration of eligible voters all year round.


    This proposal also comes against a major challenge of transparency in verifying the claims of prospective registrants at the district office level.


    3. Introducing an all-year-round Voter Exhibition exercise through the use of technology.



    The proposal by EC to have a year-round exhibition is a laudable idea but cannot be a substitute for the periodic exhibition exercise of the voters register that is normally done after voter registration. This is simply because the Voter exhibition exercise is not only intended to afford voters the opportunity to verify and confirm their details but to also;


    a) ensure ineligible registrants (minors and foreigners) are challenged and removed from the register.

    b) help clean the names of dead people from the register.

    C) afford voters the opportunity to confirm their captured biometric features.

    And this cannot be achieved through the system the EC is proposing.

    Given the errors that occurred in the run-up to the 2020 elections when this system was deployed and the fact that not all Ghanaians have mobile phones to assess this system, it cannot be a replacement for periodic Voters Register Exhibition.

    4. Restrict data entry of election results to the constituency collation level and generate regional and national reports.


    The proposal to have the entry point of data done only at Constituency Collation Centres will introduce another opportunity for rigging through hacking and other means of manipulation of the results. The way to build further efficiencies into the collation process and eliminate inaccuracies is to hire and train competent EC staff to ensure accurate data entry and collation and not to throw away the time-tested practice of collation at the national level.


    Data entry and collation must be done at constituency level and sent to the national collation center for aggregation by the Returning Officer and with the participation of political party representatives. This will ensure accuracy and transparency in the aggregation of constituency results for free and fair election results declaration.

    Hon. Elvis Ankrah Afriyie Reveals So-called Proposed Reforms by the EC


  • 4.Former Minister of Youth and Sports Reveals the So-Called Proposed Reforms by EC

    4.Former Minister of Youth and Sports Reveals the So-Called Proposed Reforms by EC

    Former Minister of Youth and Sports Reveals the So-Called Proposed Reforms by EC

    The Ghanaian Politician and Former Minister of Youth and sports, Hon. Elvis Ankrah Afriyie reveals the so-called Achievement and Proposed Reforms by the EC in her speech at IPAC.

    The NDC has taken notice of several false claims made by the chairperson of the Electoral Commission Mrs. Jean Adukwei Mensah in her speech delivered at the just-ended two (2)-day workshop between the EC and the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) at Alisa Hotel in Accra.


    According to Hon. Afriyie, the purpose of this press conference is to formally respond to and expose the many unfounded claims peddled by the EC Chairperson in her speech at the program and to explain to you the reasons for our boycott of these IPAC engagements.


    Friends from the media, contrary to the claims by the EC Chairperson that the 2020 general elections was the best ever in the history of this country and calls for the nation to celebrate some so-called unprecedented successes chalked by the EC in the conduct of the elections, the facts show that last year’s elections was one of the most poorly conducted, flawed and manipulated elections in the history of this country, a situation that has undermined the strides we have made since the inception of this 4th republican democratic dispensation. And we say this for the following reasons:

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    Former Minister of Youth and Sports Reveals the So-Called Proposed Reforms by EC

    Former Minister of Youth and Sports Reveals the So-Called Proposed Reforms by EC


    1. The dubious handling of the printing and distribution of ballot papers and other electoral materials that led to ballot stuffing by the NPP in their strongholds and other regions.



    2. The unprecedented number of rejected ballots recorded in the elections owing largely to the incompetence and recklessness of the EC in using unapproved stamp pads instead of the approved voting ink pad that we have used in previous elections.



    3. The use of illegal Statement of Polls/pink sheets (Form 8B) that omitted BVD entries in about 7,581 polling stations, thereby undermining the ballot accounting process and the integrity of the entire results. This totally belies the the claim by Jean Mensah that only 11,000 people voted by manual verification in the 2020 general elections.



    4. Widespread cases of patent arithmetic errors on the faces of pink sheets and constituency results summary sheets by incompetent EC staff in the filling of electoral forms and aggregation of valid votes.



    5. Manipulation of figures by the EC leading to a disparity between constituency collated results aggregate (13,118,640) and regional collated results aggregates (13,119,460).



    6. Padding of votes at the constituency collation centers in favor of candidate Akufo-Addo.



    7. No proper collation at the national collation center by the Returning Officer for the Presidential elections, Mrs. Jean Adukwei Mensah.



    8. Unprecedented cases of state-sponsored violence and killings at constituency collation centers occasioned by the reckless and unlawful conduct of some EC officials and the despotic Akufo-Addo government and in contravention of our time-tested election security arrangement.


    9. Also contrary to the claim that the International community has hailed the conduct of the 2020 general elections as Jean Mensah will have us believe, the European Union is on record to have decried the non-transparency of the collation process for the elections. So flawed was the conduct of the 2020 general elections that for the first time in the history of this country, a whole district made up of the Satrokofi, Akpafu, Likpe, and Lolobi (SALL) communities were deliberately disenfranchised by the EC for the sole purpose of assisting the New Patriotic Parliamentary Candidate, John Peter Amewu win the Hohoe seat. Is this what Jean Mensa and her bias Commission is inviting us to celebrate?

    Hon. Elvis Ankrah
    Former Minister of Youth and Sports Reveals the So-Called Proposed Reforms by EC


    11. Again, the claim by the EC that an amount of $90 million was saved in the conduct of the 2020 general elections is completely contrived. The facts show that the state incurred avoidable financial losses as a result of the procurement of a facial recognition technology by the EC that turned out as a fiasco.

    It is therefore ridiculous and laughable to say the least, that an Electoral Management Body that has failed to pay its temporary staff their allowances, five (5) months after an election will make the claim that they have saved the nation money. We wish to entreat the public to treat this baseless claim with the contempt it deserves and wait for a credible audit into the EC’s expenditure for the 2020 general elections.

    Former Minister of Youth and Sports Reveals the So-Called Proposed Reforms by EC


  • NDC Jujuman performs enchantment at premises of Ho EC

    NDC Jujuman performs enchantment at premises of Ho EC

    Ho, Dec 23, GNA – An alleged Jujuman and his accomplice scaled the walls of the Volta Regional Directorate of the Electoral Commission to post the National Democratic Congress (NDC) petition in Ho after the group staged a three-hour demonstration through the principal streets demanding a change in the verdict of the December 7 polls results.

    The duo, contrary to the agreed designated number of party leaders, who were supposed to present their petition to the EC Officials, got to the premises only to meet a locked gate.

    The duo, who were not part of the designated five, then scaled the wall and began to do enchantment, pouring some powdery substances and invoking words to the chagrin of the Police officials, who were outside the EC’s premises, protecting lives and property.

    Another drama was the slaughtering of ram at the main gate of the EC, Ho office, with the blood sprinkled across the gate and in a circular direction targeted at invoking certain spiritual action against the EC.

    Chief Superintendent of Police, Mr Jessey Opare, Volta Regional Operational Commander described the act of the duo as unlawful entry and said appropriate action would be taken on them.

    He said the Command decided not to undertake any “premature arrests” at the event grounds as that could lead to chaos.

    He however said the Police would invite the organisers of the protests to assist in their next action.

    Mr Opare explained that the Command received notification from the NDC regarding the demonstration and had given permission but with a condition that only five of party Executives of the Party would be allowed into the premises of the EC to present their petition.

    He said the five could not perform the task as EC officials were on break.

    The teeming group alleged the EC stole the verdict from the flagbearer of the NDC to President Akufo-Addo.

    The supporters clad in red chanted “No Mahama, No peace” with placards inscriptions reading, “This is naked thievery,” “You are a dent on our democracy,” “You can still everything, no our votes,” “Speak up international community,” “Declare Mahama now.”

    Meanwhile, Mr Henry Ametefee, Regional Chairman of NDC said the NDC would not allow the sovereign will of the people to be undermined.

    He said the NDC would not accept the results as declared by the EC because the results were fraudulent and inaccurate.

    He commended the media and the police for showing professionalism in protecting the protesters.

    See photos

    GNA

  • Minority Members of Parliament Walked to EC Office: EC Accepts Petitions

    Minority Members of Parliament Walked to EC Office: EC Accepts Petitions

    On Tuesday December 22, all the 106 Minority Members of Parliament in the Seventh Parliament of Ghana marched from the Parliament House to the headquarters of the Electoral Commission in an attempt to submit their petition the EC. Their attempts to enter into the office of the EC were blocked by the Ghana police.

    The current information reaching the nation is that, the Electoral Commission of Ghana (EC) has finally received the minority’s petition on the 2020 general elections.

    According to the Minority, the EC had disrespected them by failing to receive their petition. The Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu and Minority Chief Whip, Alhaji Muntaka Mubarak who led the NDC MPs expressed their displeasure about the way they were handled by the EC and the police, and also vowed that, they will not give audience to the Electoral Commission in the 8th Parliament.

    The Electoral Commission on the other hand has also gave a press release saying there was no official available to receive the petition because the minority failed to give them prior notice of their action.

    According to the petition by the minority, “We demand that you cause to be collated the Techiman South Constituency Parliamentary and Presidential Elections Results from all the Two Hundred and Sixty-Six (266) Polling stations in accordance with the law, with immediate effect”. They also demanded that, “that pursuant to regulation 43 (2) of C.I. 127, the endorsed writ, gazette notification and notice to Clerk of Parliament be amended accordingly to reflect the true state of affairs”.

    See Photo Gallery;

  • EC Breaks For Christmas Holidays

    EC Breaks For Christmas Holidays

    The Electoral Commission (EC) has announced it is closing it office on Wednesday 23rd December, 2020 and break for the coming Christmas holidays.

    The EC led by It Chairperson Madam Jean Mensa disclosed the Commission’s move in a Recess press released on Monday 21st December 2020.

    This has raised lots of concerns by Ghanaians because the country seems not to be stable in the just ended general elections.

    According to some concern Ghanaians, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has rejected the election results declared by the EC with the conviction that, the 2020 election results was flawed and rigged for the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

    Ghanaians are now worried that the EC will not wait to address the concerns of the NDC but leaving office for holidays which is less importation than the peace of the country.

    Mynewsgh

  • EC failed to build a strong IPAC – IDEG Boss

    EC failed to build a strong IPAC – IDEG Boss

    Executive Director of the Institute of Democratic Governance (IDEG) Dr. Emmanuel Akwetey has criticized the Electoral Commission (EC) for failing to reach consensus and collaborations with the political parties at the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meetings prior to the elections.

    Dr. Akwetey noted that at the moment the IPAC has broken down, otherwise, he said, the committee should have been able to deal with issues that are emerging from the just-ended presidential and parliamentary elections.

    He made these comments while speaking on TV3’s Key Points programme on Saturday, December 19.

    His comments come on the heels of the refusal of the Presidential Candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) John Dramani Mahama to accept the results of the elections, a situation that has thrown supporters of the party onto the streets across the country to agitate against the elections management body.

    Mr. Mahama claimed that the EC manipulated the results in favour of the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo hence, his inability to accept the results.

    But Dr. Akwetey told host of the Key Points Abena Tabi that “I think that so far, we have had mechanisms, the IPAC was important in getting the parties to come to some consensus and to collaborate with the EC.

    “There were times that their agreements led to reforms. The compilation of a new elections register, for instance, the introduction of biometric system in voter registration came from an IPAC discussion and an agreement between the parties.

    “All the reforms that we have had in elections which have been written in law came through the IPAC and the agreements that the parties reached. So in that case, I think that the situation that we are facing today, a lot of it has to do with how the EC did not manage the IPAC process.

    “For collaborations or consensus it takes time and the fact that as we speak now consensus and deliberations have broken down at the IPAC level.”

    Source: 3 News

  • 2020 Polls: I’ll concede defeat after independent audit of results – Mahama

    2020 Polls: I’ll concede defeat after independent audit of results – Mahama

    Flagbearer of the opposition National Democratic Congress(NDC) John Mahama says he’ll accept the results of the 2020 presidential election if the Electoral Commission conducts an independent audit of the results.

    Mr. Mahama and his party have rejected the results of the December 7 polls describing the election as flawed.

    According to the NDC, their analysis of the pink sheets available to them shows clearly that Mr Mahama won the elections.

    In an interview with Voice of America(VOA) Mr. Mahama showed a just cause for the NDC’s position, adding that the issues raised cannot be swept under the carpet.

    “We are currently doing a forensic audit of all the constituencies first to establish what happened and then confirm the figures that we have. Because this case might end up in court…I don’t know, I cannot mention anything for now but we are doing an audit and based on that we’ll take whatever decision we need to take.

    “But I think that in the interest of the more than 6million people who voted for me, I must uphold our democracy and hold the Electoral Commission to a higher standard and hold this government to a higher standard in terms of our democracy. The way President Akufo Addo and the EC have conducted this elections is a dent on our democratic credentials as a government. And so with my principles as a democrat, I can’t be seen to be sweeping it under the carpet and letting it go.”

    Ex-President Mahama added: “I think that we must bring closure to this by seeing exactly where the issues are. If an independent audit is done by the EC, they’ll bring somebody in to crunch the numbers do an independent audit why not, I’ll be the first person to concede and walk away. But as long as that is not done and I know that there was a deliberate attempt to subvert the will of the people in favour of the incumbent it will be wrong for me in terms of our democratic practices to just leave it because we’ll not learn the lessons of this election. I think we must learn the lessons of this election so that we don’t repeat it in future one.”

    Source: Kasapafmonline

  • Election 2020: EC Extends Its Declaration Time

    Election 2020: EC Extends Its Declaration Time

    The Electoral Commission has rescinded its decision to declare the results of the election at 5 pm, Tuesday.

    According to a press release, the new time for the announcement will be “communicated shortly.”

    “The Commission has continually reiterated that transparency, integrity, and fairness are the yardstick by which it conducted the 2020 Presidential and Parliamentary Elections.

    As such, to ensure that the declared Presidential results are 100% accurate and reflective of the will of the people, the Commission entreats the Public and all Stakeholders to exercise patience as the collation process continues in the presence of Political Party agents and election observers” the statement further added.

    peacefmonline

  • Electoral Commission in the Ahafo region, Madam Martha Osei Agyemang Is Dead

    Electoral Commission in the Ahafo region, Madam Martha Osei Agyemang Is Dead

    Barely a week to the December 2020 polls, the Asunafo North Municipal Director of the Electoral Commission (EC) in the Ahafo region, Martha Osei Agyemang has died creating a vacuum.

    The 36-year-old who died at the Wenchi Methodist Hospital where she was on admission receiving treatment according to sources available to MyNewsgh left behind a child

    Reports suggest Madam Martha complained she was unwell due to stress at her workplace in view of the workload at her office following the impending polls.

    She, however, decided to see her personal doctor at Wenchi in Bono Region for which she left Goaso on Wednesday.

    It was gathered that she was getting well and had planned her return to work until news broke out this weekend if her demise.

    According to Ahafo Regional Director of the Electoral Commission John Appiah Baffoe who confirmed her death on a local radio station, Madam Martha was committed to her duty.

    The body of the deceased has been conveyed to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi.

  • Election 2020: Greater Accra Has Highest Voter Population

    Election 2020: Greater Accra Has Highest Voter Population

    The Greater Accra Region has the highest valid voter population for the 2020 presidential and parliamentary elections.

    Out of the total 17,029,971 valid voters on the Register, the Region has 3,529,181, followed closely by Ashanti Region, with 3020,141 voters.

    Dr Bossman Eric Asare, the Deputy Chairman in charge of Corporate Services at the Electoral Commission (EC), disclosed this in response to a question posed by Members of Parliament at the weekend.

    Members of the Commission were invited by the Leadership of Parliament to brief the House on the Commission’s preparedness for the 2020 election.

    Present at the briefing were Mrs Jean Mensa, the Chairperson of the EC, Mr Samuel Tettey, Deputy Chair of Operations, Mr Kye Duodo, the Procurement Officer, and Mr Henry Ashong, the Deputy Finance Director.

    Dr Asare said the Eastern Region had the third-highest with 1,641,215, voters followed by the Central Region with 1,568,352 and Western Region, 1,187,566 valid voters.

    The rest are Western North – 468,683, Volta -924,117, Oti – 358,552, Bono – 653,609, Ahafo – 316,938 and Bono East – 594,617.

    The Savannah Region has 298,402, Northern, 1,050,015, North East, 289,535, Upper East, 659,309 and Upper West, 469,739.

    He said the exceptional list had a total of 14,002 persons while the multiple list had 18,619 persons.

    Mrs Jean Mensa said the printing of the 2020 Voters’ Register was underway and assured that it would be completed and distributed well in time for the elections.

    She said a soft copy of the register had been made available to all political parties.

    Printing of ballots was on-going at seven printing houses in Accra, namely; the Buck Press Ltd, Assembly Press, Fonstat Ltd, Innolink, Yasarko Ltd, Checkpoint Ltd, and Acts Commercial Ltd, she said.

    Mrs Mensa said to ensure transparency, agents of all political parties and security officers were monitoring the processes at the printing houses.

    The printing of the Results Collation Sheet for Presidential and Parliamentary Elections, also known as the “Pink Sheets,” commenced on Sunday, November 8, she said.

    The EC Chairperson said the Commission had recruited 233,632 temporary officials made up of returning officers and their deputies, presiding officers, verification officers, name reference officers as well as a Covid-19 ambassadors for the exercise.

    The EC Boss said a comprehensive training programme had been drawn for each category of officials and that they would be equipped with the requisite skills to enable them to perform excellently.

    Peacefmonline

  • EC Explains Why Nana Opoku Agyemang Should not be Worried over duplicated Voters ID

    EC Explains Why Nana Opoku Agyemang Should not be Worried over duplicated Voters ID

    Voters with duplicate ID numbers can still vote in the 2020 general elections, the Electoral Commission has explained.

    According to the commission’s Director of Elections, Dr. Siriboe Quaicoe, a person’s voter ID number is not part of the things checked during voting day.

    The explanation came in reaction to the 2020 NDC flagbearer, John Mahama, who has slammed the EC for producing an ‘error-ridden’ register.

    John Mahama Complained, his running mate Prof. Naana Jane Opoku Agyemang found out during the exhibition exercise that her number had been duplicated.

    “They said she had to come herself because her number was duplicated, someone else also has the same number,” he said.

    “She had to drive from Komenda to Elmina where the district office of the EC is located. At Elmina, they took the old card from her, destroyed it and replaced it with a new card.”

    Mr Mahama expressed fears that other voters who have duplicated ID numbers may not be able to go through the process to rectify this error and might be disenfranchised on voting day.

    But the EC Director, in an interview on Joy FM, monitored by Dikoder.com, explained John Mahama and the NDC should not be worried.

    He said on voting day, the EC official only checks a voter’s name and fingerprints to confirm the voter is qualified to vote.

    If the fingerprints fail in identifying a voter, the new facial recognition technology is at hand to confirm the eligibility of the person, he said.

    “Voter ID number will not be used on the day of voting,” he stressed.

    Dr Quaicoe said the ID numbers are merely system-generated numbers which could be changed without affecting the voter.

    He said as far back as 2012, the EC has had duplicated numbers in the voters register without it affecting the voting process.

    “It is not something new,” he said.

    He explained that in a constituency in the Volta Region, the EC had to change all the ID numbers because several were duplicated.

    The EC Director of Electoral Services put the number of duplicated numbers on the new voters’ register at 60,000.