Ghana’s Electoral Commission (EC) is responsible for conducting free and fair elections, a crucial aspect of democratic governance.
The EC’s credibility is essential for ensuring the legitimacy of election outcomes and maintaining public trust in the electoral process.
However, inconsistency in the EC’s decisions and actions has become a significant threat to its credibility, deepening mistrust among the public and political parties.
Furthermore, inconsistency undermines the EC’s credibility by eroding public trust as when the EC’s decisions are inconsistent, it creates confusion and uncertainty among the public.
This confusion can lead to widespread distrust of the EC and the electoral process as a whole.
For instance, the EC’s inconsistent application of electoral laws and regulations has led to a significant decline in public trust, with only 33% of Ghanaians trusting the commission.
Moreover, inconsistency also creates perceptions of bias, as different political parties may view the EC’s actions as favoring one side over the other.
When the EC’s decisions are inconsistent, it can be seen as an attempt to manipulate the electoral process in favor of a particular party or candidate, an allegation the NDC has always made.
This perception of bias can lead to allegations of fraud and undermine the legitimacy of the electoral process.
For example, the EC’s decision to allow some political parties to correct errors on their nomination forms while denying others the same opportunity was seen as biased and favoring certain parties over others.
Dr. Omane Boamah, the Director of Elections and IT for the NDC has voiced his discontent with the EC’s inconsistent behavior, citing a lack of reliability and unpredictability in their actions.
“The Electoral Commission must stop their men and women on the ground from allowing so-called temporary staff of the EC who have not been published and media personnel from participating in the ongoing limited voter transfer exercise. They had their turn!”
“This is because the Electoral Commission of Ghana must ensure unanimous decisions taken at IPAC are not varied hours after such decisions are communicated to Ghanaians”.
Dr. Omane Boamah
According to Omane Boamah, the EC’s inconsistent actions have eroded its credibility and further exacerbated the mistrust that already exists.
He implied that this makes it increasingly difficult to have confidence in their ability to oversee a fair and transparent electoral process.
He emphasized that, as previously warned by former National Security boss Francis Poku, Ghana’s democratic foundations are already under strain, implying that the EC’s inconsistencies are further exacerbating the existing threats.
EC’s Inconsistency Undermines Transparency, Legitimacy, And Trust
Furthermore, inconsistency suggests a lack of transparency in the electoral process as it creates an impression that the commission is hiding something or that the process is not transparent.
For instance, the EC’s failure to provide clear guidelines on the voting process and its inconsistent application of voting rules have led to accusations of opacity and manipulation.
In addition, inconsistency undermines the legitimacy of election outcomes which can lead to disputes and challenges to the election results.
This can create political instability and undermine the peaceful transfer of power.
For example, the EC’s inconsistent application of electoral laws and regulations in the 2020 general elections led to disputes and challenges to the election results, creating political tension and undermining the legitimacy of the election outcome.
Inconsistency also exacerbates political polarization, making it challenging to build consensus on electoral issues.
When the EC’s decisions are inconsistent, it can create an impression that the commission is favoring one political party over the other.
As such, the EC’s inconsistent application of electoral laws and regulations has created political tensions between the ruling party and the opposition parties, making it challenging to build consensus on electoral reforms.
Dr. Omane Boamah contended that it is utterly unjustifiable to permit unverified, temporary Electoral Commission staff to transfer their votes at this juncture, as this move contravenes the agreements previously reached at the IPAC.
“EC, you don’t issue the statement…with specific details, only yesterday and then clandestinely smuggle so-called temporary staff who are unknown to political parties and media personnel who are also unidentified into the ongoing limited voter transfer exercise”.
Dr. Omane Boamah
He pointed out that the recent Ejisu by-election exposed a troubling trend, NPP executives were masquerading as temporary EC staff, raising serious concerns about the EC’s impartiality and fueling suspicions of potential bias in the upcoming elections.
“It’s a recipe for gerrymandering. The EC must act to build trust”. – Dr. Omane Boamah.
As such, to restore credibility, the EC must ensure consistency in its decisions and actions, prioritize transparency, and engage in constructive dialogue with political parties and stakeholders.
By doing so, Ghana can strengthen its democratic foundations and ensure a peaceful transfer of power through credible elections.
READ ALSO: UK Decides
