‘Let’s demand that EC implements reforms’

The 2012 presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has called on Ghanaians, irrespective of their political affiliation, to “peacefully demand” that the Electoral Commission (EC) implement the reforms recommended by the Supreme Court.

“Ghanaians deserve and demand a reliable electoral system which is necessary for the peace and stability of our nation and the growth of our democracy. We must insist that the EC makes a serious effort to implement electoral reform,” he stated.

Nana Akufo-Addo, who is one of the three election petitioners who hauled the EC before the Supreme Court challenging the declaration of President John Mahama as the winner of the 2012 presidential elections, was addressing the media and party supporters at the Georgia Hotel in Kumasi yesterday.

The occasion was used to mark the one year anniversary of the judgement of the presidential election petition. The case lasted eight months in court. The two other petitioners were Nana Akufo-Addo’s running mate, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia and the party’s then National Chairman, Mr Jake Otanka Obetsebi-Lamptey.

Nana Akufo-Addo particularly mentioned all the political parties under the Ghana Political Parties Programme which include the NPP, NDC, CPP, PPP, PNC and GCPP, and civil society as the stakeholders the EC must work with to safeguard and ensure the credibility and integrity of the country’s electoral process.

Lessons

Nana Akufo-Addo described as revealing proceedings from the court hearing and said never again should anybody feel tempted or emboldened to tamper with any aspect of the voting process from the registration, verification, casting of ballots,  counting, through tabulation to the final declaration.

“The idea of anybody in the electoral process changing the figure 27 to ‘twenty-seven zero’ should shame us all”, he said, reminding the gathering about some of the happenings at the court.

Nana Akufo-Addo said he was certain that most people would hesitate to take electoral matters to court because the lessons had been learnt.

Future elections

According to Nana Akufo-Addo, a major lesson was the need for maximum vigilance on the part of the NPP people so that they could protect their votes and “ensure that our victory is correctly recorded and reported from the polling stations.”

Message from SC

He said the message from the majority on the Supreme Court panel was clear.

Nana Akufo-Addo mentioned the message to include “we might agree with a petitioner that the strange things occurred during the elections, we might all be dissatisfied with the performance of polling agents, we might ask for presiding officers that are literate and numerate, we might even agonise about infractions of electoral regulations but what happens at the polling station is sacred and results declared there will not be reversed”.

Bloated register

The 2012 NPP flag bearer, who is seeking another opportunity to lead the party in 2016, said paramount among the reforms that needed urgent attention was the need for “a new, accurate voters register to replace the present bloated one.’’

He was of the strong conviction that that was the only way to guarantee a credible document for future elections.