Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday, December 21, Barker-Vormawor emphasized that transparency is key to addressing trust deficits surrounding the collation of results.
He proposed broadcasting the process as a practical solution to enhance accountability and ensure citizens witness the collation firsthand.
“Why not set up giant screens for people to watch what is happening in the collation process?” he suggested. According to him, making the process visible to the public would demystify it and demonstrate fairness.
Barker-Vormawor criticized the heavy police deployment at re-collation centers, arguing that it does not resolve the underlying issue of mistrust.
While he acknowledged the need for security, he stressed that reliance on an overwhelming police presence could be counterproductive.
“We’ve seen so much police presence deployed at collation centers, and if we anticipate that people are going to be there, the solution shouldn’t just be to securitise the process with overwhelming police numbers,” he stated.
The activist also highlighted the need for innovative measures to involve the public in the electoral process, emphasizing that such steps could enhance the Electoral Commission’s credibility.
According to him, fostering transparency in this manner would assure the public that the collation is conducted according to laid-down procedures.