EC inaugurates committee to review electoral laws
The Electoral Commission (EC) took a further step towards electoral reforms yesterday when it inaugurated a 10-member committee to examine all proposals it has received for changes to the country’s electoral process.
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The committee, chaired by a Deputy Chairperson of the EC, Mrs Georgina Opoku Amankwaa, will, among other issues, examine the principle of “no verification, no vote” as it currently pertains in the country’s election law.
Other members of the committee are: Mrs Rebecca Kabukie Adjalo and Mr Christian Owusu-Parry, both from the EC; Mr Johnson Asiedu-Nketia, General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC); Mr Peter Mac Manu, a former Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP); Mr James Kwabena Bomfeh, the Director of Elections of the Convention People’s Party (CPP) and Mr Anin-Kofi Addo, the founder and Chairman of the Yes People’s Party.
The rest of the members are: Mr Kwesi Jonah, a Senior Research Fellow at Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG); Dr Ransford Gyampoh, a Research Fellow at Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) and Dr Franklin Oduro, the Head of Research and Programmes at the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD).
Inaugurating the committee, the Chairman of the EC, Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, charged the members to be guided by the need to protect the rights of the voter at all times.
Terms of reference
The committee is to examine all the proposals for electoral reforms submitted to the EC embodied in the publication entitled “Proposals for Electoral Reform.”
It is mandated to separate the proposals into ones that require changes into existing laws, rules and regulations and those that require changes to existing administrative procedures.
The committee is also expected to determine which proposals are worthy of adoption and indicate the form in which each change to be adopted is to be incorporated into the electoral system.
It is to submit a report on its work to the EC within three months.
Background
Following the 2012 presidential election petition, there was a clamour for electoral reforms. The EC received reform proposals from political parties, civil society organisations, some individuals and technical staff of the EC.
The proposals, together with recommendations made from the Supreme Court, were compiled into a publication entitled “Proposals for Electoral Reform.”
EC Chairman
Dr Afari-Gyan noted that the voter held a supreme position in the electoral system of the country.
“This means that the rights of the voter must be safeguarded and protected at all times,” he said.
The EC Chairman cautioned that over-regulating an electoral system would not leave any room for innovation or administrative solutions to unforseen problems, or even to take advantage of a new electoral product.
“We cannot spell out every detail of electoral work in law, nor is it desirable to try to do so,” he stressed.
Dr Afari-Gyan indicated that electoral systems evolved over time, and so from time to time, every electoral system needed one kind of reform or other.
“A reform may be introduced to resolve a specific issue; but, generally, electoral reforms seek to introduce the ‘best’ practices,” he said.
Committee’s response
Mrs Opoku Amankwaa gave the assurance that the committee would look at the various reform proposals “diligently”, and “come out with those which will be beneficial to the country.”