Ghanatodayonline.com News, Politics, Health, Education & More
The recent by-elections in the Kumawu and Assin North seats, according to Electoral Commission (EC) Chairman Jean Adukwei Mensa, should serve as a reminder to political parties not to tamper with the election management body when the odds are not in their favor.
She claimed that the two by-elections amply demonstrated the processes the commission set up for the 2020 elections’ inherent transparency, sturdiness, and integrity.
Mrs. Mensa, who made the recommendation in an interview with the Daily Graphic in Accra, stated that even if people did not have the chance to examine the systems before general elections, it was preferable that they concentrated on polling places and respected the work of the EC.
“Just like the general election, everything was done at the polling station.
Therefore, the claims that someone manipulates data at the EC’s headquarters in Accra to favor one party over the others must be disproved.
“The credibility and transparency of the elections are in the full glare for all to see, including party agents,” she added.
The Kumawu and Assin North polls, according to Mrs. Mensa, were distinguished by orderly conduct, early starts in all polling stations, and the manning of polls by knowledgeable and well-trained professional employees by 7 a.m.
The effectiveness of the Biometric Verification Devices (BVD) ensured quick voter verification, which reduced long lines, and the EC employed this technology to ensure that every voter was confirmed, she continued.
She continued by adding that by 1 p.m. on election day, most polling places had seen a 60% turnout, and that the collation procedures had been open, transparent, and quick “all in all, the process was credible, fair and transparent”.
“Right from the setting up of the polling stations, arrangement of polling materials, voting, arrangement and counting of votes, as well as the declaration at the polling station, everything was in the full glare of the public, including observers” She stated.
“We call on the stakeholders, when it did not go in their favour, to accept the results and not bastardise the elections management body, because the processes are transparent and credible.
So if you win, you do that fair and square; if you lose, you do that fair and square,” Jean Mensa said.
Source: Ghanatodayonline.com
