Media should foster national unity - NCCE

Mr. Haruna Huseini Sulemana, Upper West Regional Director of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) has urged the Ghanaian media to desist from undermining democracy through the manipulation of the minds of the people.

He said though the country had remained peaceful after the Supreme Court's verdict on the election petition, the sustenance of lasting peace would depend on the kind of information the media would give out to the public.

Mr. Sulemani made these remarks at a post-verdict education durbar at Busa in the Wa Municipality of the region organized by the NCCE headquarters in collaboration with the Municipal directorate of the Commission on Thursday.

He appealed to the media to support in overcoming the petty problems that were still prevalent after the Supreme Court's ruling on the election petition.

The durbar was part of activities lined up by the NCCE to educate Ghanaians and political parties on the need to maintain peace before and after the pronouncement of the Court's verdict.

The Supreme Court on August 29 ruled in favour of President John Dramani Mahama in the petition filed by three prominent members of the New Patriotic Party challenging the President's victory in the December 2012 Presidential election.

The NCCE Regional Director was also of the view that politicians had to take part of the blame for the infractions that were being witnessed in the media.

He said if political actors did not talk on issues that would build society but rather dwelt on those that would divide the people, media personnel could totally not be faulted for the information they gave out for public consumption.

Mr. Kassim Sumani, Wa Municipal Director of the Commission said Ghanaians needed peace to develop to the level of other countries.

"We must therefore be wary of people who never want peace and would rather wake up dogs and cats from their sleep."

Source: GNA

 

Feature: Independence of Electoral Commission under threat?

The call for the legalisation of the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) is a threat to the independence of Ghana's Electoral Commission and should not be entertained.

IPAC cannot be transformed into a legal entity since it will undermine the authority of the commission. It must, therefore, remain an advisory body.

Electoral reforms are necessary

Electoral reforms are necessary but we must avoid the situation where political parties and outsiders try to dictate to the EC. It is recipe for disaster.

Proper behaviours by political parties are crucial for true and a fairly good election and until all the actors behave well, Ghana will continue to search for a bullet proof electoral system.

One core fact to understand as we struggle to reform our electoral systems is that politicians are "electoral thieves;" they lookout for loopholes in the electoral system and take advantage of that. Politicians seek to play electoral games to their advantage, even during internal contests for party and flagbearer positions.

Since the 1992 Elections, electoral reforms have become a four-year ritual; the EC constantly scans the electoral environment by constantly monitoring its operations in order to improve upon the electoral process.

The last of such special IPAC meetings was held at the Volta Hotel, Akosombo in May, 2009. The special IPAC meeting was facilitated by KAB Governance Consult (KGC) and sponsored by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) under the theme, "Safeguarding the Integrity of the Ballot Project of the Commission."

The EC Chairman, Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, described the meeting as the continuation of interactions being held by the EC to review Election 2008.

The meeting was dubbed "Reflection Forum on the December 2008 Presidential and Parliamentary elections," and it provided the opportunity for the EC and political parties to appraise the conduct of the December 2008 Elections.

It was also to determine appropriate lessons that should inform the conduct of future elections, with the view to enhancing the credibility, transparency and fairness of the electoral process.

It also holds expanded IPAC meetings involving the commissioner responsible for the region and political parties, parliamentary candidates, security officials, civil society organisations, National Commission for Civic Education, media, faith based-organisations that observe elections, the Commissioners and domestic election observers.

The Akosombo special IPAC meeting focused on three aspects of Election 2008:

i. What was done well, which needed to be sustained?

ii. What was not done well and needed to be improved?

iii. What was so bad that it needed to be discarded?

The National Democratic Congress, (NDC) represented by Mr Huudu Yahaya, its Vice Chairman, stressed the need for a new voters' register for election 2012; that political parties should be furnished with details of voter transfer list.

Other suggestions by the NDC were that the EC must provide tracking sheets during registration; respond timely to petitions received in order to engender confidence in the process.

Erring EC officials should be sanctioned

The NDC also suggested that EC staff, at the level of directors and below, should be rotated intermittently. EC staff must also be neutral and erring EC officials should be sanctioned in a timely manner.

On recruitment of temporary staff, the NDC suggested that it must be done early; there should be a manpower audit to enable the commission determine 'capacity gaps' and in addition,  the EC must brief the parties on how they select companies that print the ballot papers. This is due to the ink marks that were inadvertently printed on some ballots.

The NDC noted that political parties should be given copies of the voters' register and the special voters' list, and called for a situational report on the implementation of the recommendations of the (Kangah) committee that investigated allegations of the 'bloated' voters' register.

The party decried the poor quality of indelible ink used in some cases in the elections, especially during the special voting, and the inaction of security agencies in dealing with complaints.

The New Patriotic Party (NPP), represented by the then General Secretary, Nana Ohene Ntow, generally agreed with the concerns expressed by the NDC.

He noted that the commission's relationship with the political parties needed to be improved, especially, in the area of communication.

The NPP suggested that the EC should make its calendar of events available to political parties early in the year for effective planning.

The party called for improved security arrangements on Election Day. Any new arrangement should deal with the 'threat of machomen'.

An inter-party back-up security

He invited political parties to consider an inter-party back-up security arrangement to deal with lapses of the state security apparatus on Election Day. The NPP also called upon the EC to disband all temporary booths.

On the collation of election results, the NPP called for a review due to alleged claims of chaos at the collation centers; and, therefore, recommended a two-step collation process, with the first one being done at the electoral level before the final collation at the constituency collation centers.

He called for intensified electoral education to help reduce 'spoilt ballot'

The NPP stated that the EC must undertake electronic registration and electronic voting as a way of improving the electoral process.

He added that electronic registration should ideally be in place prior to Election.

The NPP suggested that political parties should be given copies of the transfer, absentee and special voters' lists.

The NPP also asked the EC to act promptly on complaints and objections raised by political parties.

The Convention Peoples Party was represented by Mr Ivor Kobina Greenstreet, its General Secretary, who also agreed with the sentiments of both the NDC and NPP.

The CPP, however, suggested that the procedure for replacing lost ID cards should be made easier to minimise the attraction of such persons with lost cards to register anew.

Review of voter populations

The CPP called for a review of voter populations at the various polling centers to ensure efficiency and fairness, and that the EC should endeavour to have regular meetings with political parties and schedule definite timeframes which are to be made known to all parties.

The CPP suggested that registration processes should be completed way ahead of elections; there should be a clearer identification of polling agents at the various centres and that the EC must expose wrongdoers in its midst and must punish same.

The EC must publicise polling station results.

The Peoples National Convention (PNC) was represented by Mr Bernard Mornah, the General Secretary, who stated that there was the need to train security personnel on election day activities.

On the media, the PNC, while commending the positive role played by the media in support of Election 2008, however, pointed out that a few media organisations misconducted themselves through unprofessional reportage that created undue tension and confusion in the country.

He, further, made a case for training the media in subsequent elections.

On how to enhance public support, the PNC stressed the importance of public support for political parties as being critical to the consolidation of multi–party democracy in Ghana and asked for an expedited process to bring enhanced public support into fruition.

Intensification of voter education

The PNC called for the intensification of voter education, which the party noted was very critical and needed to be increased so as to minimise the high incidence of rejected ballots.

The PNC also asked the EC to consider the use of the forefinger rather than the thumb for voting in election; the need to clarify and strengthen EC-IPAC relationship and proposed that the voting process should start at 6:00 am and close at 4:00 pm to enable counting before dark.

The Democratic Freedom Party (DFP), represented by Mr Bede Zeiding called for a completely new voters' register.

The DFP also called for an improvement in the quality of indelible ink, and suggested that the ink should be applied on the cuticle rather than the 'immersion' which messed a lot of ballot papers.

Other parties which participated are; the Democratic People's Party, Reform Patriotic Democrats, Great Consolidated Peoples Party (GCPP), Ghana National Party (GNP) and a representative of the independent presidential candidate, Mr Amuafo Yeboah.

In view of the recent developments in Ghana's electoral systems, I highly suggest that democratic stakeholders collaborate with organisers of the BRIDGE Fellowship programme to build the capacity of political parties' representatives.

BRIDGE is a partnership between the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC), International IDEA, International Foundation of Electoral Systems (IFES), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Electoral Assistance Division (UNEAD).

The BRIDGE Fellowship trainees undergo a modular professional development programme with particular focus on electoral processes to promote internationally accepted principles of democracy and good electoral practice.

Let us approach the electoral reform process with caution, we should stop the personality attacks and focus on the main issues.

Source: Daily Graphic

Rawlings: NDC must clean-up or risk 2016

Former President Jerry John Rawlings has warned that unless the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) undertook crucial reforms by enlarging its electoral college, victory for the party in the 2016 elections will be illusive.

"Our party the NDC needs some significant reform to face the challenges of the dynamic global political climate. Our current internal structures need to be reviewed. I do not think the necessary reforms required in order to clean up the image of the party are being treated with the urgency they require. If we do not act in cleaning up the party, we will, as I warned before, face a problem in 2016", he warned.

For Rawlings, who is also founder of the NDC, an electoral college of 20,000 delegates was not representative enough of the views, choices and aspirations of the masses of the people that represent the grassroots base of the party. He believes a number not less than 150,000 delegates will do for the party.

"The decision of the NDC must not emanate from only 20,000 people. We want 150,000. Give us 150,000", he maintained.

Ex-president Rawlings was delivering the keynote address as Special Guest of Honour at the 12th edition of Deza, the annual festival of the people of Dzodze in the Volta region on Saturday.

The time, he said, had come for the NDC to enlarge its electoral college to a larger group of people which was a better representative of various local communities, to elect officers of the party all the way to the flagbearer.

He said even though some other parties may have initiated that method, the NDC could do it better and come up with a larger and a more representative college, saying that should have been done a long time ago.

Ex-President Rawlings urged executives and officials of the party with integrity to support the call for reforms and that "they should have nothing to fear".

"Let us not do anything to undermine the attempt to hand over the party to you the people. To do so, to attempt to undermine it, will be risking the life of the NDC. The NDC must get back into the hands of its power base", he stressed.

He recounted that the party struggled after losing power to the New Patriotic Party in 2000 all the way to 2008 because of some practices that adversely affected the party and which required strenuous efforts to regain power in 2008.

The NDC, he said, had planted trees that had grown fully for the benefit of all but some people had come to cut down some of those trees. He said judicial justice had been destroyed in the country.

He had made incessant calls, he said, for the investigation of corrupt officials of the NPP when the NDC regained power in 2008 but all those calls fell on deaf ears.

"Before we lost the 2000 elections, our ministers and other government officials had done nothing that required them being jailed but they used their judges to jail them. There were a number of things that we should have investigated but our brother (Mills) refused and did nothing about it. There were some of our own who also felt that since nothing was done to the corrupt officials of the NPP administration, then they could also do same", he alleged.

God, he said, realized that the path that Prof. Mills had taken would not help and had to call him to his side in heaven saying the second thing that God did was to put John Mahama in Mills' place.

But the third, he said, now depends on the masses: "You were the ones that gave the power to Mahama and not the executives of the party. You, the 20,000 delegates gave him the mandate and not the executives. If you do not take back your power and re-insert your spirits and souls into the party like we did in the past, 2016 will not be good", he warned.

"That is why I am saying that we do not only need 20,000 people to go and vote for Mahama again. Give us 150,000. We should be doing that (enlarging our electoral college) and not the NPP. We believe in the integrity of the masses. Let's increase it to 150,000 for them to go and bribe 150,000 delegates for us to see", he maintained.

He entreated the people to translate the victory of the NDC into politically organized power, adding that if things should stand the way they were now, it would give the chance to "destructive elements" to contest again.

"An NDC decision must not emanate from only 20,000 people. Leave it at 20,000 and see what will happen in this country come 2016. That one, God will not help us. Rawlings will not help us. Mahama will not help us. Your victory will come from taking back your party. An expansion of the Electoral College, the voting power", he advised.

He said Ghana was being touted as an oasis of political stability in a desert of conflicts and uprisings on the African continent, adding that that enviable record was a product of a sense of perseverance, sacrifice and patriotism that "many of you and a host of fallen heroes had to endure particularly in the difficult days of the revolution to lift the country out of the failed economic and political situation it found itself".

"Today, some modern day converts operate as if they own the copyright to the pains and sacrifices you the people had to endure", he observed.

He noted that one major problem crippling the nation was that of corruption, saying President Mahama had said that the fight against corruption required the support of all and therefore charged Ghanaians not to just elect a president and sit back and watch but they should come on board, lend support to the president in the fight against corruption.

Source: Daily Graphic

Irate youth besiege NPP NEC meeting

Irate young men and women besieged the headquarters of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in Accra yesterday, where the National Executive Committee (NEC) was meeting over fresh proposals to prepare the party for the 2016 general election.
The demonstrators were there to protest against the proposals and their activities temporarily disrupted the committee meeting.

At about 11 a.m. yesterday, while members of the committee were in the meeting, the youth, with red bands around their necks and arms, forced their way into the premises of the party's headquarters even though security guards at the entrance tried to stop them.

Holding placards with inscriptions such as "Jake, don't kill our party; "Moko Aya ne Moko Aba", which means older hands should make way for the new; "We need accountability"; and "No early congress," they chanted war songs and danced, while party leaders tried for over an hour to control them. Finally, the police were called in to help.

Achibold Cobinnah, who spoke to the Daily Graphic, said they were against the top-down approach being proposed by the leadership of the party.

"We prefer the bottom-up approach where we contest elections at the polling station level then to the constituency level, regional, national and then finally the presidential candidate is elected," he said.

He urged the leaders to consider solidifying the internal structures of the party to enable them to win the next general election in 2016.

After close to four hours of closed-door meeting, members of the NEC announced they had dismissed the claim that there were plans to extend their mandate and impose Members of Parliament (MPs) on constituents.

"There is no such plan. The party continues to believe that elections are the best way to judge one's electability," the members said after the NEC meeting.

Some party members had proposed an early congress to elect the party's presidential candidate to permit enough time to sell the presidential candidate and also recommended that sitting MPs were retained and not contested in an election at the constituency level.

The NEC leaders resolved to finalise the issues raised at the meeting next week and tasked members to consult their constituents on the issues raised and then submit feedback at the next meeting.

A statement signed by the Deputy General Secretary of the Party, Mr Adbulai Fuhlanba, noted that the national executive members were working towards a replacement of NEC members in March 2014, while the constituency and regional elections would precede the national delegates' congress.

National Organiser, Mr Muctar Bamba, told the Daily Graphic that the leaders would "only abide by the stipulations of the party's constitution."

The MP for the Nabdam Constituency, Mr Gambila Boniface, assured party faithful not to see the issues raised by the chairman as an imposition on the party.

"It is only an idea that has been proposed. Unless it is accepted, it cannot be the party's position. But there has been a misconception and people think Mr Jake Obetsibi-Lamptey wants to use it to entrench his position."

Source: Daily Graphic

NCCE applauds Ghanaians for political maturity

Mrs Charlotte Osei, Chairperson of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), has commended Ghanaians for showing admirable political maturity in the aftermath of the 2012 election petition ruling. She said the peaceful conduct of Ghanaians sent clear and powerful message of faith in constitutional democracy. Mrs Oseiwas speaking at a stakeholders' meeting at Agogo in the Asante-Akim North District to discuss the need for all to continue to sustain the peace. The programme, organised by the NCCE with support from STAR Ghana, was attended by representatives of the various political parties, civil society organizations, chiefs, assembly members and students. Mrs Osei said the petition had brought into sharp focus the need for reforms to improve the electoral system and sustain the country on the path of democratic growth. She called for tolerance, political accommodation and fair play which, she said, were the pillars of multi-party democracy. Mr Samuel Akuamoah-Boateng, Director of Programmes at the NCCE, said more should be done to help the youth to engage in productive ventures so as to become less susceptible to political manipulations. He stressed the need for responsible journalism to hold the nation together and remove tension and division. Mr George Kyei Barffour, a Local Governance expert, called for continued stakeholder engagements to safeguard the peace.     He said although there was relative peace, the nation was still polarized and that was the more reason why Ghanaians should avoid  complacency.

Source: GNA

 

GBA backs calls for electoral reforms

The Ghana Bar Association (GBA) has emphasized the need for electoral reforms to include the introduction of electronic transmission of result to reduce disputes in future polls.

The group also called on the Electoral Commission (EC) to provide a more simplified form on which the Statement of Poll and Declaration of results for the office of the President and Parliament are recorded.

Nene Amegatcher, President of the Association, was speaking at a press conference in Accra on various resolutions of the GBA passed at its 2013/2014 Annual Meeting held in Ho from September 15-20, 2013.

The resolution called on the EC to recruit well-qualified and adequately trained presiding officers and assistants to man the polling stations. 

He urged political parties to ensure that qualified and competent agents were appointed to oversee their interests at the various polling centres and ensure that the requisite procedures were followed and correct results duly entered and executed.

Nene Amegatcher reiterated the call for the retooling of the political arrangement of winner-takes-all and the introduction of and adherence to national policies that transcends government policies depending on which political party is in power.

He said the attendant advantage of ensuring and promoting the advancement of political camaraderie, reduced political tension, democracy and good governance in the country.  

The resolution further noted with concern the seeming refusal of bail as a means of punishment and directs the National Executive Committee of the GBA (NEC) to liaise with the Judicial Service to ensure that judges and magistrates properly consider bail to ensure the realization of justice.

Nene Amegatcher also underscored the momentum generated by the presidential election petition hearing accentuating the role of lawyers in national development and the pivotal contribution and commitment to the ethics and integrity of the legal profession in the efficacious administration of justice and the entrenchment of the rule of law.

He entreated the General Legal Council (GLC) to ensure full compliance with rule 8 of the Code of Ethics of the GBA abhorring the grant of interview on matters pending before the courts to curtail lawyers scurrilous attacks on the bench or adversaries in public thus bringing the legal profession into disrepute and urged all errant practitioners to commit to the noble ideals and high ethical standards of the legal profession.

He expressed also concern about allegations made against some eminent judges of the Supreme Court and personalities in the country in the aftermath of the election petition's judgement.

Accordingly the resolution supported the decision of the General Council of the Bar directing NEC to pursue formal investigations with the Judicial Council and GLC to ascertain the veracity of the allegations against those eminent judges to protect and preserve judicial independence and the integrity of the justice delivery system.

Nene Amegatcher also encouraged members of the Bar to re-affirm their commitment to maintaining and continually promoting an upright judiciary and reminded all lawyers that it was their duty at all times to uphold the dignity and high standing of the profession and to discharge their duties to fellow members of the profession with fairness, courtesy, and good faith and refrain from doing any act likely to bring the profession into disrepute.

Source: GNA

 

Contribute towards electoral reforms — NCCE boss

The chairperson of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), Mrs Charlotte Osei, has added her voice to the call for all stakeholders to contribute their quota towards any kind of reforms that will ensure that the nation's next election would be devoid of any hiccups.

According to the NCCE chairperson, the call for reforms in the nation's electoral laws was not a bad idea since every election could bring about one reform or the other, which in the long run strengthens the nation's electoral system.

Responding to a question at a stakeholders meeting on election dispute at Agogo in the Asante Akim North District, Mrs Osei said although the 2012 election petitioners had a good case, their inability to support their case with enough evidence led to the case being dismissed by the court.

She said the New Patriotic Party (NPP) lost the landmark Supreme Court verdict due to lack of evidence.

The stakeholders meeting was organised by the NCCE in collaboration with the European Union and STAR Ghana. It was aimed at sensitising the people to the need to maintain and protect the peace in the country after the court had given its jugdement on the landmark case.

The stakeholders were made up of representatives of the various political parties in the country, traditional authorities, social and faith-based groups, among others.

The Supreme Court of the country on August 29, 2013 dismissed a petition brought before it by the presidential candidate of the NPP, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, his running mate, Dr Mahmoud Bawumia, and the party's chairman,  Mr Jake Obestebi Lamptey.

This led to a seeming tension in the country, especially in the stronghold of the NPP, but the acceptance of the judgement by the petitioner brought about peace in the long run.

Mrs Osei commended chiefs in the country for their roles in ensuring peace right from the commencement of the case till the judgement was given, saying but for the role chiefs in the various communities played, most youth could have indulged in one form of violence or another.

The Konongo Divisional Commander of Police, Chief Supt Alex K. Amenyo, commended all Ghanaians, especially the people of the Agogo area, for the way they comported themselves before, during and after the announcement of the judgement and challenged them to continue living in peace the same way.

He assured the people that the police would continue to work hand in hand with the citizens to ensure that peace prevailed at all times in the country and urged the people to volunteer information to the police about bad people to enable them to investigate and apprehend such people.

The Deputy Ashanti Regional Director of NCCE, Mr Paul Larbi, said the recent petition hearing had deepened the nation's democracy and urged all to work towards ensuring total development in the country.

He said there was the need for the peace in the nation to be protected at all cost and challenged all to think about the nation first at all times instead of seeking their selfish interests, which would go a long way to affect the total development of the nation.

The Paramount Chief of Domeabrah, Nana Frimpong Afoakwah, who chaired the function, called on the NCCE to intensify its public education to the remotest parts of the country to ensure that people did not take advantage of them and misinform them on issues which could lead to conflict in the country.

Source: Daily Graphic