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Former President John Mahama has voiced his displeasure with the Electoral Commission’s (EC) proposed change to the date of the presidential and parliamentary elections.
He said that the attempt by the Electoral Commission to enact significant changes in the months leading up to the general election in 2024 might erode public trust in the electoral process.
Following the introduction of a new Constitutional Instrument (C.I.) and a proposal to move the election date from December 7 to November 7, Mr. Mahama made these comments.
This new timeline, according to Dr. Bossman Asare, the EC’s Deputy Chairman in charge of Corporate Services, will make it easier for the election management body to mobilize for a runoff should the first round of voting results remain unclear at the end of this year’s polling.
He made it clear that the Attorney General and the parliamentary system must approve the implementation before the EC can make the final decision.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate for the general elections of 2024, however, emphasized that if the plans are not implemented as intended, they may cause chaos.
He said this while addressing the leadership of the Christian community in Koforidua as part of the “Building Ghana Tour” on Wednesday, January 31.
Mr Mahama emphasised that elections are very emotive events, and urged the country to handle such changes carefully to avoid chaos or disagreements.
“There are times when what the EC does not seem right. With just nine months until this year’s general elections we voted in 2020 you are now proposing significant changes, claiming they won’t implement indelible ink and other such absurdities” Mahama stated in twi.
If you do that, the public’s trust in the electoral process is not improved. Additionally, they claim they want to change the old C.I. and move the election date. The former President emphasized, “What we’re saying is that, why wait till now, you don’t spring surprises on people like that.”
In the meantime, the Electoral Commission claims that it has not yet made up its mind regarding the use of indelible inks in the upcoming general elections of 2024.
In the most recent local assembly elections, the commission decided against allowing voters to verify that they had already cast their ballot by dipping their fingers in permanent ink.
The Deputy Chairman of the EC responsible for Corporate Services said that a final decision has not yet been made regarding the use of indelible ink in the presidential and parliamentary primaries.
Source: Ghanatodayonline.com
