Alex Segbefia, Head of International Relations Desk of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has disclosed that the party will not be part of the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) as it pursues its electoral reforms.
According to him, IPAC was created so that NPP at the time will have a neutral platform to lay its reforms. As such, IPAC has diverted from its ways of resolving issues relating to elections.
Mr Segbefia further explained that IPAC is “supposed to be a consensus-building body and should not open up for political parties to vote”. Due to this, inviting political parties to vote on such issues is not the accepted means of tackling electoral reform proposals.
“Before the 2020 election, the NDC forwarded reforms to IPAC where it was a consensus body but transformed into a voting organisation after inviting political parties to vote. That is the problem with IPAC”.
“In the past, IPAC will debate on issues until consensus is met but the case is not same now”.
Alex Segbefia
Additionally, Mr Segbefia noted that IPAC was created so that NPP at the time will have a neutral platform to lay its reforms. Also, he argued that the Committee tasked to implement policies based on consensus so that the opposition party will not feel intimidated.
Electoral Commission must be split into two
On August 28, 2021, Dr Alex Segbefia called for the splitting of the Electoral Commission into two. According to him, the separation of the regulatory part of the EC from its operational side would help address invalid political parties.
“We take the view that the group that actually registers political parties and the group that actually supervises whether a party has enough conditions to meet the conditions for political parties and whether they should then have voting rights at a forum legally like IPAC should be totally separate from the EC.
“The EC will have no involvement whatsoever in that process and the EC will work with what that group tells it as to how to conduct IPAC and work with IPAC. So, it’s doable, but it takes away the problem that we’re talking about.”
Alex Segbefia
NDC boycotted IPAC meeting
In April this year, the National Democratic Congress refused to attend an Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC).
The meeting was aimed at giving the various political parties the opportunity to review the December 7, 2020, general elections.
In a statement signed by its General Secretary, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, the party took this decision because of what it described as the lack of candour, and open bias that was displayed by the EC in favour of the New Patriotic Party during the 2020 general elections.
The NDC further justified its action, insisting it was to protest the supposed bias displayed by the EC during the polls.
Additionally, the party revealed that going forward, it will review its relationship with the Commission.
The NDC, after series of consultations, proposed some electoral reforms, which the party believes are geared towards restoring the credibility and integrity of Ghana’s electoral process.
However, after delivering the document to the EC headquarters in Accra, the EC directed the opposition party to discuss its proposal before the Interparty Advisory Committee (IPAC)
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