Amend the 1992 constitution to reflect the recommendations of the CRC – NDC in Akufo-Addo

The opposition, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), urges President Akufo-Addo to initiate processes to amend the 1992 Constitution to reflect the recommendations of the Constitutional Review Commission (CRC) presented to the presidency 10 years ago. years.

The party, which highlighted electoral reforms in the commission’s report, also justified a 34-point electoral reform it proposed.

One of the main proposals is parliamentary oversight of the selection of the President of the Electoral Commission (EC) and other members of the commission, a ban on the use of the military during elections and a legislative instrument to give legal support for Inter-party operations. Advisory Committee (IPAC) among others.

“We urge His Excellency the President to accept the interpretation of the Supreme Court (Supreme Court) as the correct interpretation of the Constitution and the law and to proceed urgently to activate the processes for the speedy implementation of the reforms. constitutional reform as defined by the Constitutional Reform Commission on 20^e December 2011 ″, said Nana Ato Dadzie, chairman of the NDC electoral reform committee at a press conference on Tuesday, August 24, 2021.

According to the party, he hopes that the government will take the necessary measures to operationalize the flagship reform recommendations and proposals, as well as the recommendations of the Constitutional Reform Commission.

“The NDC reform proposals, as well as any additional reform proposals that may be submitted, are intended to be used to undertake an impartial and open discussion and review of EC operations. They aim to contribute to a national conversation on electoral reforms in the context of critical and persistent discontent among parties with the electoral process, ”added Nana Ato Dadzie. The flagship recommendations of the NDC:

1. The continuous voter registration system already approved by IPAC and accepted by the EC needs to be implemented. However, for reasons of cost and convenience, registration should be done at district offices of the EC once a month, on the last Friday of each month.
2. The mandatory publication requirement of candidates for recruitment as temporary staff of the EC for voter registration and for elections and to allow the public to oppose candidates who have questionable backgrounds or who have partisan biases manifesto must be strictly observed.
3. The EC should ensure that the recruitment for the different categories of election officials is as impartial as possible, with available positions advertised and non-partisan and competent persons selected after interviews.
4. The list of all polling stations to be used for an election with their names, code numbers and locations must be published in the Gazette and as supplements in state newspapers no later than 30 days before the election.
5. The Regional Collation Center should be abolished.
6. The 7 am to 5 pm voting period should be maintained.
7. The EC should establish Election Arbitration Committees (EACs) at national and constituency levels as administrative dispute resolution mechanisms for first instance grievances against the decisions and actions of election officials.
8. The EC should be required to publish details of all polling station results by polling station and constituency by constituency on its website and in the Gazette.
9. There must be a public broadcast of the presidential vote collation process at the EC Headquarters as the constituency presidential results are received and certified.

Stakeholder engagement proposals

1. The silence of reform proposals on the issue of the growing “monetization” of electoral politics in Ghana is deafening.
2. The proposed Office of the Regulator of Political Parties (ORPP) is expected to be rebranded as the Multiparty Commission for Democracy (MPDC) with an expanded mandate to tackle pathologies of the political system and monitor the health of Ghanaian democracy, especially in the periods between the elections.
3. The proposed name of the ORPP should be changed to “Commission for the Regulation of Political Parties” (PPRC).
4. There should be a cap on the funding of political parties for election campaigns.
5. NDC’s engagement with stakeholders should be broadened into a “National Consultation on Electoral Reforms”.
6. The composition of the EC should be technocratic rather than political, with member positions advertised, candidates interviewed and most appropriate persons appointed.
7. There should be criteria to eliminate registered but inactive and moribund political parties and political parties that do not appear serious from the electoral process and membership in IPAC.
8. Proposed Election Arbitration Committees (EACs) should be given a period of time to complete their work.
9. The NDC is expected to remain loyal to Ghanaians and implement its reform proposals when it finds itself in government and the proposals have not been implemented by then.
10. The NDC may wish to gain buy-in from other political parties before proposals are presented at an EC or IPAC meeting.
11. Under no circumstances should the army be deployed in civilian elections.
12. The IPAC Legal and Technical Sub-Committees are expected to be relaunched when IPAC is restructured and becomes fully functional.
13. If formal legislative support for IPAC proves difficult, one or more MPs should sponsor a private member’s bill to that effect.
14. There should be a mechanism to reduce the incidence of “invalid votes” during elections.