Political parties in the country have cast doubt on the Electoral Commission’s ability to implement reforms following the challenges which confronted the 2012 polls. The Commission has come under criticisms by some political for its inability to deal effectively with some of the problems that bedevilled the elections, that some argue, could have been avoided. Speaking to Joy News on the sidelines of a workshop to discuss proposals for electoral reforms, some representatives of the political parties say the EC cannot be trusted to effectively carry out the reforms. MP for Manhyia East, Dr Matthew Opoku Prepmeh, who spoke for the New Patriotic Party, observed experience has shown that the Commission is not amenable to change.
He recalled that in 2005 some members of the then opposition National Democratic Congress went to the Supreme Court to compel the EC to publish polling stations results in the 2004 general elections. Even though the case was thrown out, he said, for the sake of “transparency, fairness, and accuracy” the EC should have concerted and published the results.
If the EC had cooperated with the NDC, a major political party, publishing the polling station results for the 2012 general elections would not have been a problem. This, among others, he said shows that the EC is “resistant to true reforms”.
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