Presiding officers must take charge of security at polling stations on Election Day to address conflict of interest concerns and enhance the credibility of elections, the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) has recommended.
Consequently, it said, all security personnel assigned to polling stations on Election Day must be made to take orders from presiding officers.
It, however, indicated that the police must take charge of other election-related security matters outside the polling stations.
The recommendation, which is contained in the IEA Electoral Reforms Project Report, stressed the need for “a rethink of the security architecture and arrangements at polling centres during voting.”
Conflict of interest
In the view of the IEA, it was reasonable for any public-spirited and level-headed Ghanaian to anticipate that the Regional Security Councils (REGSEC) and the District Security Committees (DISEC), as constituted, could lead to conflict of interest situations.
It said with political heads (regional ministers and metropolitan, municipal and District Chief Executives) as chairs of REGSEC and DISEC, they might have difficulties dealing fairly and firmly with election-related security issues, especially in instances where they were candidates.
“In other words, when an electoral offence occurs at the polling station, there will certainly be a conflict of interest situation where a DCE who is also contesting to be an MP is the chairperson of the DISEC,” the IEA noted.
“The security agencies must, therefore, take charge of general security and the prosecution of electoral crimes. However, at the polling station, the presiding officer must have overall authority and command,” it added.
Prosecute electoral offences
The IEA further recommended that all electoral offences be prosecuted in order to deter people who might want to foment trouble during elections.
In that regard, it called for the amendment of Section 46 of the Representation of the People’s Law, which requires the written consent of the Attorney-General for the prosecution of persons involved in electoral offences.
“The EC guidelines on voter education and electoral offences must be published and incorporated into the training and education programmes of all election officials,” it added.
IEA project
The IEA Electoral Reforms Project captures the views of political party representatives and other key political actors of the need to reform the country’s electoral system.
It is in line with the commitment of the IEA, in conjunction with the Ghana Political Parties Platform (GPPP), to improve the country’s electoral system.
The IEA had held a series of workshops in 2013 and 2014 to discuss Ghana’s electoral system with a view to proposing reforms, given the challenges that characterised the 2012 general election.
The workshops were attended by representatives of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), New Patriotic Party (NPP), People’s National Convention (PNC) and the Convention People’s Party (CPP), which constituted the IEA-GPPP, and other political actors.
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