Political Parties Call For Emergency IPAC Meeting

General Secretaries of various political parties in the country have demanded an emergency Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meeting ahead of voter registration by the Electoral Commission (EC) next month.

The political parties, among other things, want the EC to build consensus on the need for another voter registration before the process begins.

The EC has scheduled the voter registration exercise for June this year.

The political parties met Tuesday as part of the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) political parties programme and resolved to get the EC to hold the IPAC meeting.

General Secretary of the Convention People Party (CPP), Ivor Greenstreet, who was part of the meeting, said the political parties hope to discuss issues and agree on terms before concerning the voter registration before heavy politicking kicks start.

“We are almost out of time already”, he said.

IPAC is made up of representatives of all registered political parties and the EC.

It includes Regional Inter-Party Advisory Committees and District Inter-Party Advisory Committees.

IPAC’s main function is to deliberate, share ideas and proffer advice on electoral matters.

The Electoral Commission last month gave notice it will embark on a revision of the voters’ register for about nine days.

The revision, according to the EC, will be limited voter registration exercise intended to offer Ghanaians who have attained the voting age of 18 years since the last registration in 2012 and those who were above 18 years but could not, for various reasons, register as voters during the last registration exercise.

The registration is expected to take off on Friday June 20, 2014 to Sunday June 29th 2014 from 7:00 am to 6:00 pm each day.

The registration will take place at designated registration centers in all electoral areas throughout the country.

Although the EC is yet to respond to the request by the political parties, the CPP General Secretary said he is hopeful the EC will heed their call.