Election 2024: You can critique EC but avoid name-calling - Afenyo-Markin 

It is absolutely okay for anyone to criticise the operations of the Electoral Commission (EC) provided it is balanced and constructive, the Majority Leader in Parliament, Alexander Afenyo-Markin has said. 

He said that as the state institution tasked to conduct and oversee national elections, are allowed to constructively criticise them when they get things wrong but they also deserve to be commended when they do the right things.

He stressed they Ghanaians should focus solely on the negative parts.

“I recall when I was in opposition and I had issues with the EC, I took it all the way to the Supreme Court. I was raising the issues and we got justice in our courts at the time, 2015 assembly elections,” Mr Afenyo-Markin said.
 
“Nothing stops anyone from critiquing the work of the EC but the name-calling must be stopped and I think when we do that, our followers will not be misled into thinking that this is what we say so they should follow us and do the wrong things,” he added. 

Event 

Mr Afenyo-Markin, who is the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Effutu constituency, made these remarks on Wednesday [June 12, 2024] during an interview with the Graphic Online when he paid a courtesy call on the management of Graphic Communications Group Ltd (GCGL) in  Accra. 

The visit was to help strengthen the already existing cordial relationship between Parliament and the company. 

It also to served as a platform to establish rapport, exchange ideas and proffer up solutions to issues of national interests as major stakeholders in the development of Ghana. 

Media

 Mr Afenyo-Markin equally urged media outlets to also act in a manner that will discourage unnecessary antagonism by denying access to people who would use their platforms to sow division because tension normally emanates from what is disseminated. 

“I don’t believe that a politician should mount a platform and attack another politician as a means of winning power. We should table our agenda for transformation and that is what will help,” he intimated. 

The Efuttu lawmaker stressed that Ghana’s elections since 1992 have been largely peaceful and nothing will change before, during and after this year’s either. 

He, therefore, urged all of us politicians, media houses to be very constructive on national issues that would rise adding that Ghana can only develop if we collectively focus positive energy on the issues. 

He also encouraged the security agencies to remain firm in the enforcement of the laws during the polls. 

Achievements

Mr Afenyo-Markin Acknowledged that even though there was more room for improvement, Ghana was towering over its neighbours in the subregion in several sectors including infrastructure and private sector growth that help address unemployment growth. 

He added that that the government had also performed admirably in terms of education by instituting the Free Senior High School (SHS) and Free Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programmes. 

“From 800,000, today we have 1.4 million Ghanaians in school. Apart from that, we have seen massive infrastructure transformation in our various senior high schools. Government did not just implement free shs but has matched it with infrastructure, more is yet to be done,” the Majority Leader in Parliament stressed.

“So you look at the road sector, we have challenges but again you can also see that contractors are on our roads working day in and day out. So we can raise the bar by looking at what the ordinary Ghanaian wants rather than attacking and all,” he added.