Assessing the EC: The successes, lessons

The 2024 general election has come and gone, leaving in its wake a trail of successes and valuable lessons. 

As individuals, experts, academics, and the nation at large reflect on the electoral process, the Daily Graphic considers it essential to acknowledge the strides made by the Electoral Commission (EC) while also identifying areas that require improvement.

A notable achievement of the EC was the transparent printing and distribution of ballot papers. The EC’s decision to grant stakeholders, including the media and civil society organisations, access to the printing and distribution process helped alleviate suspicions and misconceptions.

Indeed, it was a move that demonstrated the commission's commitment to transparency and accountability. To the best of our knowledge that was the first time such initiative had been taken since the outset of the Fourth Republic more than three decades ago.

The commission’s decision to limit the size of each polling station to 749 voters and create additional polling stations was another milestone that resulted in a significant improvement in the voting experience. It allowed voters to spend an average of five minutes at polling stations, which was a remarkable effort.

Such efficiency that was witnessed at the polling stations was a testament to the commission's planning and preparation towards the just-ended elections.

Moreover, the EC's engagement with stakeholders, including political parties, civil society organisations, the media and the diplomatic community was unprecedented. The electoral body’s openness and willingness to address concerns largely went a long way to building trust and confidence in the electoral process.

The commission also implemented measures to ensure the integrity of the elections.

The recall and reprinting of over 3.6 million ballot papers in the Eastern and Western regions due to a security breach demonstrated the commission's commitment to transparency and accountability.

However, despite these successes, there are areas the EC should relook going into the future. Our electoral system, fortunately, has a biometric register. But beyond this, all other processes are done manually.

This has given rise to some lawless citizens seizing and destroying electoral materials such as polling station summary sheets (Pink Sheets), ballot papers and ballot boxes.

The few challenges that were encountered at some polling stations that affected the electoral process arose because of such incidents. The EC must as a matter of urgency work towards electronic voting to ensure less physical interference in the electoral process.

The EC, therefore, needs to invest in more reliable technology and develop comprehensive backup plans to prevent such interferences and disruptions in future.

The Daily Graphic, thus, entreats managers of the national purse, and for that matter, the government, to ensure early, timely and adequate release of funds for the EC to carry out its constitutional mandate without any hindrance.

Additionally, as much as the EC was building local printing capacity, we are of the view that going forward, it should be more rigorous in the selection of printing houses for such exercises so that only qualified printers will qualify.

Nevertheless, we commend the commission for its initiative to use local companies to print its ballot materials. We are aware that many countries in the sub-region look outside their jurisdiction for the printing of electoral materials.

We urge printing houses to ensure that they deliver quality service to justify the use of local sources for such important and delicate national exercises. It is only when they pass such tests that they can build the confidence of clients, both within and outside the country, to continue to merit such jobs in the future.

Again, the EC's opening of the media to IPAC meetings which allowed the events to be covered live reduced the contradictions that happened when the media were absent.

The EC’s three-hour-interval regular media briefings, especially on election day and afterwards, effectively helped engage with stakeholders to prevent misinformation. 

As we laud the EC, we urge the commission not to rest on its laurels. It must continue to strengthen its communication architecture by developing a more proactive and responsive communication strategy, leveraging social media, traditional media and other channels to keep stakeholders well informed and address concerns promptly.

The 2024 elections have come and gone, but their impact on the country's democratic landscape will be felt for years to come.

As Ghana continues to consolidate its democracy, we all must support the EC to improve on these feats even further.

We doff our hats to its yeoman’s job notwithstanding the few bottlenecks, in ensuring the elections were transparent, free, fair and peaceful.