According to Dr. Omane Boamah, Director of Elections for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), the Electoral Commission (EC) would be unable to hold this year’s election in November due to the delay in the proposal.
“You don’t wait for an election year to introduce major Electoral Reforms: a year in which the EC has so much to do after an abysmal District Level (Assembly) Elections characterised by postponements after postponements, shortage of ballot papers, some Election officers complicity among others,” he went on to say.
On Monday, January 29, the NDC backed the change in the day of national elections, but wanted the reform to start in 2028.
This comes after the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) met with political parties to discuss the EC’s proposal to modify the election date.
In a Facebook post on why the EC could not hold elections in November, Dr Boamah noted that “the EC waited for seven years to pass after 2016 without revisiting this issue only to resurrect the subject of voting in November, when Ghana has just ten (10) clear months to the December 07 presidential and parliamentary elections.”
The Director of Elections for the NDC said if the political parties had accepted the EC’s November proposal at Monday’s IPAC meeting, that would have meant Ghana had eight months to prepare for the elections.
“Meanwhile, the Electoral Commission’s calendar of programmes and activities for the upcoming elections is not yet ready; hence, could not be released to political parties,” he added.
Dr Boamah queried why the EC waited for January to end without stakeholders having the electoral calendar for the 2024 elections.
“Why did the EC not introduce these discussions, adjustments, and amendments in 2017, 2018, 2019, or better still, why not after the 2020 elections? As in, introducing the subject matter in 2021, 2022, and 2023?”
“You don’t wait for an election year to introduce major Electoral Reforms: a year in which the EC has so much to do after an abysmal District Level (Assembly) Elections characterised by postponements after postponements, shortage of ballot papers, some Election officers complicity among others,” he stated.
He also asked the EC to amend Article 112 (4) of the 1992 constitution.
“This amendment of a non-entrenched clause requires two-thirds of MPs to pass, meanwhile the MPs themselves must be in their constituencies for some parts of this year campaigning, facilitating the registration of voters when the EC finally decides. Not to think of the duration of the process and other germane issues the EC must
bring to the front burner,” he added.
