Integrity of electoral process should be reviewed - EC Director
The Central Regional Director of the Electoral Commission (EC) Mrs
Philomena Edusei, has suggested that the integrity of the electoral
process should be reviewed to help identify officials who may decide to
go contrary to the laid down procedure.
According to her, this was due to the difficulty the EC faced in getting
committed people who would remain neutral in the execution of their
roles.
She advocated for the criminal prosecution of persons who willfully engage in wrong acts during elections.
Speaking at a two-day review meeting on the 2012 general elections
organised by the EC in collaboration with the Department for
International Development (DFID) and KAB Governance Consult (KGC), in
Cape Coast under the theme: “Enhancing the credibility of the 2012
elections”, Mrs Philomena Edusei indicated that during the Biometric
Voter Registration (BVR) all who were eligible to be registered were
captured.
The Electoral Commission in February commenced a review of the 2012
elections, with the Ashanti region being the first region of call.
The review is aimed at assessing the conduct of the 2012 election in
order to come out with the measures to stop similar incidents from
re-occurring.
She stated that some of the challenges faced before and during the
elections included, the constant breakdown of kits and printers, the
long period of work on the Election Day which affected the quality of
work of the returning officers and the large number of voters at some
polling centres.
She recommended that repair and service centres be set up in each region
to address the issue of machine breakdowns as well as proper care of
election materials.
She added that more time should be allocated for public education and an
additional returning officer be recruited purposely for collation at
the collation centres.
Meanwhile, participants at the meeting also raised concerns about the
high number of rejected ballots, voters lack of knowledge about the
voting process, biased security personnel and election officials at the
poling centres and also the need for the EC to continue registering
persons who turn 18years from time to time instead of waiting every four
years.
On the other hand, the EC Commissioner for Central Region Mrs Pauline
Adobea Dadzawa, gave the assurance that all issues raised would be
critically and appropriately dealt with in order to enhance the process
in forthcoming elections because the EC was working towards continuous
registration of persons who turn 18 years.
The meeting was attended by about 50 participants including political
parties, election officials, faith-based organizations, traditional
rulers, civil society organizations and the media.
GNA
