EC officers must be neutral
Everyone has a bias for one thing or another, but those who do not make their biases obvious are often described as exhibiting maturity, especially when they find themselves in positions that require some neutrality.
Advertisement
In our editorial last Tuesday, we urged both permanent and temporary officials who will be appointed by the Electoral Commission (EC) to assist in the December general election to exhibit neutrality in their duties.
We made the call because being referees in the elections, they taking sides or making their biases and support for one political party so obvious will not only be dangerous but also take away a lot from the fairness of the polls.
We said we were not oblivious of the fact that the workers of the EC, just like other Ghanaians, belonged to or were aligned to specific political parties, which is their prerogative.
That notwithstanding, the nature of the work they will do calls for some circumspection and level headedness that only come with being neutral and professional in the execution of the job on hand.
This means EC officials must not be seen to favour any member of the electorate based on party affiliation or consideration in the discharge of their duties.
Rather, if a member of the party they are affiliated or aligned to or have sympathies for is seen to exhibit any tendencies inimical to the elections, the person must be called to order, and if he/she refuses to be whipped into line, he/she must be reported to the appropriate security agencies for the appropriate sanctions to be effected.
We believe that a step like that will bring sanity to the polls and serve as enough deterrent against such tendencies from others who would be minded to cause commotion during the elections.
The Daily Graphic believes that the ultimate aim of the officials must be to provide the right atmosphere for smooth and fair polls.
So while we laud the decision of the EC to use more knowledgeable citizens such as accountants and lawyers in the collation of results to ensure that we have more accurate data, we caution that if the knowledgeable citizens compromise their neutrality, it will negatively impact on the success of the polls.
Showing blatant biases for particular political parties will also be a clear recipe for disaster, as voters will try to oppose any moves they make, a development which may result in violence at polling stations.
The danger here is that such disturbances may not be localised but have a ripple effect on the entire elections throughout the country in this era of citizen journalism and social media.
The Daily Graphic, therefore, urges the EC to do thorough background checks on the people who will be appointed and trained in various roles before, during and after the elections, as they are a very crucial element in conducting successful polls.
People found to be die-hard political party supporters with zero tolerance for opposing views must be dropped before their biases get in the way and create preventable confusion at polling stations.
We also believe that if those chosen see their appointment as an honour to serve the country, their foremost aim will be to bury their individual inclinations in the discharge of their duties to make everyone a winner during the polls.