2024 Polls:EC urged to operate within its established regulations and conventions to prevent unnecessary tension

PRESS RELEASE
TO: ALL MEDIA HOUSES
DATE: 15th AUGUST, 2024

AFRICAN ELECTORAL INSTITUTE (AEI) URGES THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION TO OPERATE WITHIN ITS ESTABLISHED REGULATIONS AND CONVENTIONS IN ORDER TO PREVENT UNNECESSARY ELECTORAL TENSION AND AVOID UNNECESSARY LEGAL ACTION

 

 

The African electoral institute has taken notice of complains by some political parties with regards to the seemly unusual delay by the EC to furnish each registered political party with the completed provisional voter register few days to the EC’s scheduled nationwide exhibition of the compiled provisional voter register.

Thus, the African Electoral Institute (AEI) urges the EC to operate within its established regulations and conventions in order to prevent unnecessary electoral tension.

 

 

AEI wishes to refer to regulations 22 (1) of Constitutional Instrument (C.I.) 127 which states that “The Commission shall, not later than twenty-one days before the exhibition day, provide each registered political party with a copy of the provisional voter register for each constituency. Furthermore, C.I. 91 section 22 (2) states that “The Commission shall, not later than seven days before the exhibition day, provide each registered political party with a copy of the final voter register for each constituency.” In fact, C.I. 127, Regulation 22(1), and (2) reiterate the same requirements as C.I. 91.

In the opinion of AEI, the above C.I.s are not ambiguous in their directives. It did not say ‘MAY’ but ‘SHALL,’ which is instructive.
It should be noted that; the C.I regulations ensure that political parties receive the provisional voter register in a timely manner, allowing them to review and verify the accuracy of the provisional voter register before the exhibition day.

Checks by AEI is that the EC has ALWAYS provided soft copies to registered political parties once it announces that the provisional voter register is completed. We therefore wonder what the obstacle may be this time.

Nonetheless, it would be unlawful for the Electoral Commission of Ghana to fail to provide the provisional voter register to political parties as required by Constitutional Instrument (C.I.) 91, Section 22 (1) and (2) as amended, and C.I. 127, Regulation 22 (1), and (2).
By not providing the provisional voter register to the political parties, as stated by the C.I, the Electoral Commission would be in breach of its statutory obligations, which could lead to:

1. Legal action: Political parties could take legal action against the Electoral Commission for failing to comply with the law.

2. Election disputes: The failure to provide the register could lead to disputes and challenges during the election process, potentially affecting the credibility and outcome of the elections.

3. Constitutional implications: Repeated failure to comply with the law could raise constitutional questions about the Electoral Commission’s independence and impartiality.

Finally, the AEI submits that it is essential for the Electoral Commission to adhere to the law and provide the provisional voter register to political parties within the specified time frame to ensure transparency, accountability, and a credible electoral process.

SIGNED:
*Deputy Director of Communications and External Relations
*Joshua Nii Adjin-Adjin Tettey
0540904550

About Us:
African Electoral Institute ( AEI) is a Civil Society Organisation (CSO) founded to deliver sustainable electoral solutions to Emerging and Developed Democracies to strengthen, augment, and build electoral stakeholders capacity and participation on electoral issues through electoral education on voter’s rights and freedom, electoral research, election monitoring, election observation, election results collation, election security awareness and training of polling agents and elections directors underscoring the fact that “elections are won at the polling stations’’ and the participation of all identifiable electoral stakeholders in an electoral process such as Political Parties, Governmental Institutions, underpinning transparency and accountability for a free, fair, and credible elections in Africa and the wider world.
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