Former Deputy Chief of Staff, Alex Segbefia has described a proposed two day stakeholder workshop by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) to review Ghana’s electoral system as, “at best pre-mature or at worst, contemptuous”.
Mr Alex Segbefia says he cannot understand why the IEA would not wait for the Supreme Court, which has been petitioned by one of the key players in the elections, to pass judgment on the matter before claiming malpractices and irregularities occasioned last year’s elections thus the need for reforms.
“…how do you have an introduction to a meeting which says that one of the problems is that there were widespread scenarios of people voting without verification, when the court has not ruled on that aspect, which is part of an allegation that has been put forward?” he sought to know on Metro TV.
To him, the IEA’s statement passes judgment on matters that have not yet been determined by the apex court of the land.
He strongly maintained that he is yet to see any evidence to the effect that, there were “widespread” irregularities, by way of voting without verification, pointing out that any meaningful debate on the just ended general elections would be based on the ongoing election petition hearing at the Supreme Court.
Ghana conducted a relatively peaceful, free and fair election in 2012. However, there were several irregularities that marred the beauty of the nation’s effort to consolidate her democratic gains through elections.
The introduction of Biometric Verification Machines to authenticate the identity of voters proved ineffective in many polling centres. This extended voting to the next day and created tension about the safety and security of the ballot boxes. While some Ghanaians argued that they be kept by the Security Agencies, some voters insisted that they be kept at the polling centres throughout the night under their vigilance.
Besides, there were several reported cases of electoral irregularities reported cases of electoral irregularities including the disregard for the rule of that one cannot vote without being first verified, over-voting, discrepancies between figures and letters of recorded voters etc.
Against this backdrop, the Institute of Economic Affairs in its attempt to increase transparency and integrity of the Ghanaian Electoral System and begin a process of reforming the electoral system is organizing this Two-Day workshop.
Ghana as a country has chosen the cause of multi-party democracy and constitutionalism. There is therefore the need to review and reform its Electoral System if we are to give true meaning to this choice.
We count on your kind continues support and we are looking forward to receiving a favorable response from you.
Thank you.
Yours Sincerely,
Mrs. Jean Mensah
(Executive Director)