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The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has welcomed the 27 electoral reforms which have been approved by the Electoral Commission (EC).
The Party’s National Organiser, Kofi Adams, in an interview said the party will study them and if any issues come up they will be raised at the IPAC meeting.
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has also welcomed the reforms initiated by the Electoral Commission.
Speaking in an interview , the Director of Elections at the NPP, Mathew Adjei Mensah Korsah, stated that the EC had already discussed them at the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meetings.
below 27 new reforms introduced by Ghana’s EC.
EC Rolls is th 27 Reforms For Free And Fair General Election
The Electoral Commission [EC] has rolled out 27 electoral reforms to ensure free fair and credible elections this year.
These reforms were adopted after the EC set up a committee to look at the reforms proposed by the Supreme Court.
The EC Chair Charlotte Osei announced this at a program dubbed ‘Time with the Commissioners’ in Accra.
The 27 reform proposals which were accepted and are being implemented by the EC are as follows:
1. Hold Presidential and Parliamentary elections in November instead of December.
2. EC to do continuous registration as well as periodic registration.
3. Election Officials & Party Agents to take oaths before a Magistrate or Judicial officer instead of an officer of the Commission.
4. Institutionalize IPAC.
5. Use of the Biometric Verification Device for exhibition of the Provisional Voters Register.
6. EC to raise the minimum educational qualification requirements for various levels of election officials.
7. EC should improve quality of training of election officials and EC staff.
8. PWDs and vulnerable persons should be given priority at polling stations.
9. EC should make clear provisions regarding processes and procedures to be followed upon an adjournment of the poll.
10. EC should improve the Compensation package for Election officials.
11. EC should serially number the statement of Polls and the Declaration of results sheets.
12. EC should set up a National Collation Centre to replace the “strong room”.
13. EC to appoint collation officers for each constituency.
14. EC to defer adoption of electronic voting.
15. EC must ensure that election officials who breached electoral laws are sanctioned.
16. EC should take steps to reduce rejected ballots.
17. EC should extend the period of notice for Voter Registration exercise from 14 to 21 days.
18. EC should be given the mandate to apply to the courts to delete names of unqualified persons from the Provisional Voters’ Register.
19. EC should be required by law to give a copy of the Final Certified Register to Registered Political Parties at least 21 days before the elections.
20. EC to reduce the number of voters per polling station.
21. EC should publish an annual calendar of its activities at the beginning of an Election year.
22. EC should publish a list of all polling stations with their codes and locations not later than 42 days to the elections. EC accepted 21days.
23. Returning Officers should give copies of Proxy, Special and Absent Voters lists to Candidates/Parties.
24. Returning Officers to issue copies of collation sheets to Candidates/Agents.
25. EC to expand the list of special voters to include accredited media personnel and election observers. GJA to provide the list of accredited media to the EC.
26. EC to publish Presidential Election Results per polling station on its website.
27. EC to define the term “ordinarily Resident”.
The Commission is of the view that, the implementation of this comprehensive list of reforms, will make the outcome of the 2016 elections credible and acceptable to all the stakeholders involved.
