EC composition should involve political representation — Brad King
THE composition of the Electoral Commission in any country should be made up of political representation to ensure that its decisions are respected and accepted by all.
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The Co-Director of the Indiana Election Division, the body that oversees elections in the Indiana State in the United States, Mr Brad King, who stated this, explained that a composition such as that would bring transparency in its activities and its decisions would always be by consensus.
Mr King, who stated this when foreign journalists covering the US presidential primaries called on him at the State House of Indiana in Indianapolis, stressed that the composition of the electoral body was crucial for electoral harmony.
Nuts & bolts of a US Election
The foreign journalists, made up of 24 from Africa, Asia, Latin America and Europe, were in the US at the invitation of the US Foreign Press Centre for a global reporting tour focused on the 2016 elections in that country.
Dubbed, “Nuts & Bolts of a US Election”, the reporting tour, which started in Washington, DC, climaxed with the primary election in Indiana on Tuesday, May 3, 2016.
Electoral disputes
Using the composition of the Election Division in the State of Indiana as an example, Mr King said since the establishment of the division, there had not been any serious electoral disputes, explaining that it was manned by four officials made up of two representatives each of the Democrat and Republican parties.
Asked whether the electoral body had even been accused of being biased towards a particular political party, he replied, “No, I don’t think we have ever been accused of being biased. Angie and I have been nominated by the two political parties and so we have to agree for the office to take a position on an issue and so it will be unusual to be accused of being biased.”
Equal representation
He said the equal representation of the two political parties eliminated completely any misgivings that might crop up during elections and could not recall any dispute because the representatives were always together in dealing with electoral issues and concerns.
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Mr King, who is one of the representatives of the Republican Party on the division, said the division prepared well for the primaries, explaining that everything was in place for a smooth conduct of the elections.
He said the unofficial results of the primaries were announced in the evening and pointed out that in almost all cases, the official and unofficial were always the same.
Writer’s email: severious.dery@graphic.com.gh