Dr Richard Amoako-Baah, Head of the Political Science Department at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, (KNUST) has admonished the Electoral Commission(EC) Chair, to hurriedly study on the job so as to perfect the preparations towards the 2016 polls which he maintains would be very crucial.
According to the university Don, ‘there was no time for the Chair, Mrs Charlotte Osei to practice a try and error system since the days to the polls were strikingly close’.
Speaking on the maiden morning show of Ashanti’s newest radio station, Silver fm on its Omanbapa programme hosted by Oheneba Nana Asiedu, Dr Amoako-Baah fiercely stressed ‘the stability of the country rested on the conduct of a clean poll this year’.
According to him, the stakes on this year’s polls were higher than any other and demanded the EC painstakingly deal with every challenge on its way to ensure peaceful polls later this year.
EXPERIENCE:
Dr Amoako Baah advised the EC to fall on experienced hands in the in the system to ensure a seamless process ahead of the crucial polls.
According to him, ‘many experienced hands as well as persons with election expertise abounded in the system and the EC chair could fall on any of them to guide them on the path of having a credible poll’.
There was no point, the lecturer mentioned for the EC to turn a deaf ear to reason since any failure on their part to conduct a clean poll would have dire consequences for the Country.
VERDICT:
On the acceptability of the verdict of the polls by political parties, Dr Amoako Baah stressed, ‘the use of a credible voter register would greatly help parties to exude confidence in the process’.
According to him, ‘there was no need to make political parties feel foreigners and non-Ghanaians can decide a poll which is meant for citizens’.
He, therefore, tasked the EC to consciously abide by the recent Supreme Court verdict which he noted clearly orders them to delete the names of those who registered with the National Health Insurance Scheme cards.
Dr Amoako Baah, unequivocally slammed, ‘there was no ambiguity about the recent verdict by the apex court of the land’ and cautioned, ‘any failure on the part of the EC to carefully follow the orders of the court might be suicidal to their plans to conducting the polls this year’.
DATE:
He opined the current arrangements at the E.C coupled with some legal issues the Commission has to grapple with at the law courts makes it difficult for them to meet the November 7th date it has planned to have this year’s polls.
He, therefore, suggested the EC comes out clear to assure the people of Ghana and the political parties its plan to meet the suggested November date or otherwise.
This, the lecturer maintained would assuage any anxiety that might be building up in the people as well as the contesting political parties.
He called for a continuous engagement between the EC, political parties and civil society so as to ensure every laudable idea, suggestion and input is carried on to make the upcoming polls as clean as possible.
INTRANSIGENCE :
The lecturer, however, cautioned the EC not to do anything to show to the people it was a law onto itself.
He advised for intensive education for the public so as to make them feel part of the election every step of the way.
According to him, it was better to involve the people in each step of the way to build up confidence in the process than to engage in things which at the end would point to the exercise of ‘juvenile nonsense’.
