Ghana: Can Our EC Redeem Its Tarnished Image?

“I have no more campaigns to run……I know, because I won both of them”. Barack Hussein Obama. This is a quote from the The 44th President of United States when he delivered his State of the Union speech on the 20TH January, 2015. What I believe the President meant was for the house to join him in a bi-partisan way in debating issues in the house in the best interest of America as he has no political agenda.
It is important that Ghana adopts a similar approach when discussing the roles of the Electoral Commission (EC) in the politics of Ghana.
In my previous article I mention that it was practically impossible for the EC to be “truly” independent due to the appointment process of the Commissioners as stipulated in Ghana’s Constitution. In this article, I will try to address the question on the mind of many Ghanaians. Can Ghana’s EC redeem it's tarnished image? I will attempt to answer the question objectively and dispassionately. I too have no mandate to vote. I know this because I live in a country where the two big political parties are “Labour” and “Conservatives”.

By: Dominic Yooku deGraft Aidoo

 With this I hope that this article is read in the same spirit in which it is written. As usual, l will set the scene with the following quote from the much publicised United Nation Development Programme (UNDP) report titled “Conduct of an Institutional Assessment and the Development of a Strategic Plan for the Electoral commission of Ghana” issued on the August 16, 2015 and authored by Islam Yusufi & Theophilus Dowetin. “

….Over the years the Public Affairs Department of the EC has been reactionary rather than being proactive. It should be more forthright coming out with information before political parties come up with allegations in the public domain….” I will attempt to respond to this statement by suggesting practical, low cost ways from my view point that can help the EC restore its lost glory. These suggestions, I believe can put the EC back on a possible safe trajectory to full recovery.

 Let me first commend the EC for its bold decision to introduce a more transparent and inclusive process in 2016 General Election by abolishing the collation centre popularly referred to as the ‘strong room’. The decision is a step in the right direction.

 Timeliness: We have less than twelve months to the 2016 General Election. The EC cannot afford to be perceived as hiding behind the two-day Public Hearing to delay legitimate concerns raised by almost all the political parties. In my opinion the EC must set clear time limit for which it will endeavour to work to. This will help restore confidence and make the EC a credible Public Institution once again. It is very important and critical that issues raised by political parties are promptly and accurately investigated and responded to especially during the 2016 General Election.

The same goes for the recommendations made by the Supreme Court of Ghana in the Election Petition verdict. We cannot afford to be directing Political Parties to the law courts when they have legitimate concerns. The tax-paying people of Ghana cannot and will not accept this behaviour from our institutional leaders in the 2016 General Election. The Election Petition in my opinion only exposed the shocking state of affairs of the EC and has contributed to the very low public confidence in this “once” great institution.

The Public Affairs Department must start to work again. It is important that the department is proactive rather than reactionary. The public image of the EC is dependent on this department. The EC must distant itself from any form of public information from all Political Parties. We expect 22years old EC to be able to stand on its own two feet. It should and must be forthright but impartial in its approach.

 Rules of Engagement: The rules for participating Political Parties must be very clear to all and scrupulously adhered to. This includes officers of the EC as well as Party Agents. There must be significant punishment to individuals as well as the Political Parties for any serious breaches to serve as a deterrent. For example if it is agreed by all that ‘No Verification No Vote’ then it should mean exactly that. Election rules needs to be strictly observed. Before rules are made it is important that all potential risks are assessed and mitigated against.

 For example before making the rule ‘No Verification No Vote’ in the 2012 General Election, the EC should have considered all mitigating circumstance such as the risk of the bio-metric machine breaking down, etc. We cannot disenfranchise the Electorate for the flaws of the EC neither can we afford to break the rules governing the general election arbitrarily and with impunity. Careful planning can easily avert such an occurrence. There should be no interference with the EC. The EC must be allowed to referee the General Election as per Ghana’s Constitution. Interference from Political Parties and their leaders must be ignored. The EC must issue clear guidelines to all contesting Political Parties and their Candidates. The parties must solemnly abide by them.

Policy and Codes: The UNDP was very critical of the lack of policies in the EC. It makes one wonder if we are making the best use of our employed staff at the EC. Are we getting value for service for the tax payer? What exactly have the Commissioners and Heads of Department been doing since the EC’s inception? Key Policies such as the following are lacking according to the report.
1) No developed IT policy
2) No staff ethics code,
3) No legally enforceable code of conduct for the observers,
4) No gender policy,
5) Lack of special policy on engaging with the youth constituency, etc.
It is important that for the 2016 General Election, the EC publishes a Staff Ethics Code especially for the temporary staff.

Observers: According to the UNDP report we do not have any legally enforceable code of conduct for the independent Election Observers. How do we expect the observers to behave when they arrive? What are they required/expected to do or not to do? Who do they report to? On whose invitation do they come in? It is also very important that a legally enforceable Code of Conduct for the observers (both international and local) is published and adhered to unflinchingly. The observers must be and seen to be independent as well.

The gloomy picture painted by the UNDP Assessment report gives a sense of hopelessness but the EC can make us proud again. We can all help the EC to redeem it public image by being objective. The stakes are high for Ghana in 2016.It is time we take the general election in 2016 serious. From my perspective our founding fathers will not stop sobbing until we help the EC to restore its lost glory and put Ghana back on track as the shinning black star of Africa!

Email Dominic mygharticles@gmail.com