<<Print>>

A civil society group has expressed its intention to mount a consistent watch on the Electoral Commission (EC) from now to 2016.

The initiative is to avoid the possibility of the EC unwittingly sending Ghanaians to war. According to the group it is now manifestly clear that the only institution in Ghana that can send Ghana to war is the Electoral Commission of Ghana. The group has said that this is because it is the institution that is charged with the onerous duty of ensuring that only duly elected personnel ascend to the Presidency or into Parliament, as well as serve as Assemblymen/Women and other important elective positions.

‘However, in spite of the fact that the EC is charged with such great responsibilities, it’s track record shows all too clearly that it cannot be depended upon to conduct its affairs in responsible and accountable manner,” the group has said.

These sentiments were expressed in a press statement issued by the Coalition For Free, Fair And Transparent Elections (COFFTRE) yesterday. It was titled “Ghana Faces War in 2016, unless The Electoral Commission of Ghana IS Made Accountable.”

The statement was signed by Mr. Kenneth Agyei Kuranchie as national President (0544397309), Mr. Kwabena Paintsil as national Convenor (026481502), Mr. Mohammed Kwaku Ohene as Member (026 1676225).

Giving reasons for the declaration, COFFTRE, recalled that during the recent district assembly elections, was disqualified under C.I. 89 from contesting. The EC stated that he was over-age, and used that as a basis to disqualify him from contesting. Yorke is said to have died from the shock of the disqualification.

“Since then, many constitutional watchers have insisted that his age limitation clause in C.I 89 was unconstitutional. When the Electoral Commission was challenged, it refused/failed to prove any reasonable basis for introducing the age limitation clause into C.I. Doubtless to state, Edmund Yorke, the victim of the EC, is now dead, with nobody to speak for him,” the group said.