Ghana in search of new electoral chairman

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Afari-Gyan
Afari-Gyan

Ghana?s electoral boss Dr. Kwadwo Afari-Gyan is due for retirement this June, paving the way for a worthy successor to uphold the West African country?s fine democratic credentials.

Afari-Gyan
Afari-Gyan
With the exception of the 2012 general election, Afari-Gyan?s credentials as an excellent electoral referee were never questioned. The man has presided over four previous general elections without blemish.
His fifth and last engagement however nearly marred many years of untainted fame, praise and reputation from political observers in and outside Ghana.
Ghana?s 2012 elections faced a few hiccups with the introduction of the novel biometric verification devices (BVDs) which pushed voting from one to two days with its attendant challenges.
The Electoral Commission (EC) said the difficulties encountered with the BVD during the 2012 presidential and parliamentary elections were occasioned by poor handling of the equipment rather than a defect with the machines.
It said either basic instructions on how to handle the devices were not adhered to or that some officers recruited for the elections turned out to be almost computer-illiterate, or a combination of the two factors caused freezing and other challenges experienced with the devices.
The EC said it would consequently scrutinize prospective electoral officers more thoroughly to ensure their competence and the likelihood of their strict adherence to detail to avoid some of the challenges that attended the last public elections.
Not satisfied with the conduct and result of the 2012 polls, the main opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), led by its presidential candidate Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Ado, and party Chairman Jake Otanka Obetsebi Lamptey, challenged the verdict of the EC.
The EC had ruled that incumbent President John Dramani Mahama had garnered 50.70 percent of the presidential poll as against 47.74 percent by Nana Akufo-Ado of the NPP, thereby declaring the former winner of the presidential poll.
The ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) however opted to join in the suit.
The Supreme Court, in a landmark legal battle, running into eight months, finally ruled in favor of President Mahama and the NDC but advised that the EC should embark on electoral reforms due to some lapses that emerged during the trial.
Since then, both politicians and civil society activists have begun to question the integrity and fairness of the EC boss and his team, urging that they carry out the necessary reforms, particularly with regard to cleaning the electoral register which some claimed to be bloated or imperfect.
The EC therefore set up an Electoral Reform Committee to look into the lapses of the last elections and make and recommend changes to the nation?s electoral system.
Afari Gyan, on receiving the Electoral Reforms Committee?s final report here last Friday, said the EC was not bound to implement all the electoral reform recommendations.
?We would however want Ghanaians to note that the Commission (EC) would not hesitate to adopt recommendations which can work,? he added.
He said although he was yet to study the final report, he expressed the hope that the recommendations, which would be adopted by the EC, would help bring the needed changes that would be acceptable to stakeholders.
?We will ensure that those aspects which are administrative would be looked into carefully whereas referring the legal ones to the appropriate authorities to look into them.?
Afari-Gyan noted that, contrary to people?s perception, the Supreme Court did not issue orders to the EC to set up an Electoral Reforms Committee but recommended it.
The EC, he said, would take its time to study the report carefully and inform Ghanaians on decisions which would be taken on the recommendations of the Reform Committee.
With Afari-Gyan?s retirement drawing closer, possibly in June, politicians and civic society organizations have already begun the debate on who takes over from him.
The NPP, NDC, Progressive People?s Party, National Democratic Party, and Let My Vote Count Alliance (LMVCA), a pressure group, have all called for transparency in the selection or appointment of a new EC boss.
They all agree that there must be broad stakeholder consultation to ensure that country gets a good chairman for the EC.
Ghana?s constitution is however unambiguous on the procedures for the appointment of the EC boss and his or her team.
Article 70 (2) of the 1992 Constitution states: ?The President shall, acting on the advice of the Council of State, appoint the Chairman, Deputy Chairmen and other members of the Electoral Commission.?
Emmanuel Akwetey, Executive Director of the Institute of Democratic Governance, therefore objects to calls for broad stakeholder consultation on the nomination or appointment of the Chairman of the EC.
?I have called it a pretty needless fuss and derogation from the clear terms of the Constitution. Yes, that is just what those calls on President John Mahama to do ?broad consultations? in the appointment of a new chairman of the Electoral Commission are.
?It is an avoidable sin against the Constitution he swore to protect – pure and simple. Those political parties and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) advocating and almost demanding any consultations outside of the clear injunction to the President to appoint ?on the advice of the Council of State? in Article 70 (2), I say without any equivocation, are ill-advised and must halt the unhealthy unconstitutional crusade.
?The clear unambiguous terms of constitutions are not and ought not to be negotiated in the absence of crisis or potential crisis if complied with.?
Even in the midst of this brouhaha, five names have already surfaced as possible choices. These are Justice Senyo Dzamefe and Justice Alhaji Saeed Kwaku Gyan, justices of the Court of Appeal; Georgina Opoku Amakwaah and her colleague Amadu Sulley, both Deputy Commissioners of the EC; and Charlotte Kesson-Smith Osei, Chairperson of the National Commission on Civic Education (NCCE).
While the debate rages over a search for Afari-Gyan?s replacement, the ruling NDC has expressed the wish that ?we should not turn the appointment of the new EC chair into a partisan battle where the NDC, NPP, PPP or PNC are struggling and fighting to have their favorite?.
The nation requires an EC Chairman with the caliber of Afari-Gyan, who has been hailed as one person who has contributed immensely to the success of five general elections held in Ghana.
Professor Attahiru Mahamadu Jega, Chairman of Nigeria?s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), said here Thursday the INEC had drawn lots of inspiration from Afari-Gyan.
This, he said, had contributed partly to the success of the elections held in Nigeria last March.
Speaking on local radio – Adom FM – Prof Jega described Afari-Gyan as ?a shining example to the leadership of other election management bodies in Africa?.
He said Nigeria had benefitted tremendously from the experience, wisdom and advice of Ghana?s EC chairman, adding: ?I have nothing but commendation for the Ghanaian Electoral Commission and in particular for the leadership of Dr Afari-Gyan.?
But this is the man who will be bowing out of the country?s electoral process after reaching the ripe age of 70 this June.
Mohamed Ibn Chambas, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Office for West Africa (UNOWA), has outlined some qualities that the Council of State must look out for in the appointment of a new head of the Electoral Commission (EC).
Such a person, he advised, must ?possess high integrity, be professionally competent, independent-minded and a person who would be mindful of their personal dignity and legacy?.
Dr. Chambas was speaking at the Third Kofi Annan-Dag Hammarskjold Annual Lecture in Accra under the theme ?The Continuing Challenges of Peace and Security in Africa: A West African Perspective?.
?The specific message for Ghana as it prepares for the 2016 elections is that having a Head of EC who is a person of high integrity, professionally competent, independent-minded and mindful of their personal dignity and legacy is important in consolidating Ghana?s rich experiences in the conduct of elections,? he stressed.
The stakes for the 2016 general election are already reaching fever pitch, as the major political parties, the ruling NDC, and the main opposition NPP try to outdo each other in a pre-season campaign for the people?s thumbs. Enditem

Source: Xinhua

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