Time for electoral reforms now!

As part of efforts at deepening democracy in the country, the Electoral Commission (EC) is expected to implement electoral reforms in order to enhance the electoral system.

In the wake of the challenges that emerged after the 2012 general election, the EC has been challenged by key stakeholders to put in place the needed reforms to inject trust in the 2016 elections.

Political parties with representation in Parliament, namely the National Democratic Congress (NDC), the New Patriotic Party (NPP), the People’s National Convention (PNC) and the Convention People’s Party (CPP), as well those with no parliamentary representation, including the Progressive People’s Party (PPP) and the Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP), have all proposed useful electoral reforms in order to enhance the electoral system and, by extension, demonstrate good governance. 

However, the implementation of these proposals by the EC seems to be very slow or is yet to start.

Reforms are not new to this country, since it has been going through electoral reforms, at least after 1992 when the country settled on multi-party democracy.

However, the historic 2012 election petition at the Supreme Court, which exposed some monumental challenges in the nation’s electoral system, cannot be glossed over.

To safeguard the EC’s role in election administration and its integrity and protect itself from needless public criticisms, the Daily Graphic contends that it will be in the commission’s own interest to enhance transparency in its entire operations by listening to the proposals being put forward by all key stakeholders.

While acknowledging the EC’s autonomy and independence, the Daily Graphic thinks electoral reforms will not in any way compromise the commission’s status but rather enhance its image as a credible and transparent body, as well as reduce the high perception of and sometimes incidents of electoral fraud that have characterised elections in Ghana.

It is imperative that the EC must be seen to be acting on implementing the needed electoral reforms now.

There is the need to protect our democracy by strengthening the integrity of our electoral process and enhancing the credibility of our elections and election results.

In line with this, the EC must endeavour to work with defined programmes and published timelines to ensure certainty in the implementation of electoral reforms.

While we urge the EC not only to listen but also fully consider and act on the many proposals, we also call on all key stakeholders, including civil society groups, to cooperate with the EC to ensure an effective review of the country’s electoral system. 

This way, we will collectively ensure free, fair, transparent and acceptable elections in 2016.

The Daily Graphic believes that we can guarantee the integrity of the electoral process if the key stakeholders contribute to the reform process.

It is not beyond the EC and, indeed all stakeholders, to reach a consensus on the process, so that the country can be spared another eight months of electoral litigation.