Political analyst and senior lecturer at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Professor Samuel Adu-Gyuamfi, has cautioned the Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana of its activities inuring to the upcoming election in 2024.
In an interview with e.tv Ghana’s “Fact Sheet” socio-political talk show, Professor acknowledge that there is no perfect election but emphasized that what matters are the processes leading up to the election day.
According to Professor Adu-Gyuamfi, the commission and its actors must embrace all ideas and tend to do more than what the current EC has alluded to. He also noted that the National Identification Authority (NIA) has a crucial role to play in ensuring free and fair elections by making sure that Ghanaians have their identification cards.
“There’s no perfect elections across the continent so we can’t talk about the perfect electoral system. We’re talking about what the commission and the commissioner does before the Election Day and when the conduct of that institution and the actors therein able is able to embrace all the ideas and has the tendency to gain and to do more than such intransigence posture the current EC has alluded to,” he shared.
However, he stressed that the NIA’s activities are still a work in progress and until they reach their optimum capacity, there should not be an attempt to leapfrog without having the right things in place. Professor Adu-Gyuamfi stated that when a work in progress is assumed to have worked to perfection, it is not fair to the citizenry.
“Arguably so there will be free and fair elections if the NIA is able to make sure that Ghanaians for that matter who must have these identification cards have them. So first things first let them do that, achieve that end because I believe that the activities of the NIA is work in progress and until they’ve obtained some optimum capacity in that respect,” he stated.
“We should not jump and attempt to leapfrog without making sure we have the right things in place. When you have a work in progress and you have assumed that the work in progress has already worked to perfection and therefore you’re going to rely on that for this equally very important exercise then I think you’re not being fair to the citizenry and that is the point I’m advancing on,” he continued.
The political analyst also expressed his concerns about the attitude of the current EC and its intransigence posture. He advised that the commission must ensure that all stakeholders are involved and work together to achieve a successful election.
Professor Adu-Gyuamfi’s cautionary words come at a time when Ghanaians are preparing for the upcoming elections as the Electoral Commission plans on using the Ghana card as the sole requirement for voting. Meanwhile, the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC), Jean Mensa while briefing Parliament on the new CI proposal revealed that the Ghana Card will not be a requirement in the casting of votes in the 2024 General Elections.
However, she indicated that the Ghana Card will be the sole identity document to be used in the voter’s registration process in the acquisition of new Voters’ IDs if the new constitutional instrument is passed.
