Nobody can impose the IPAC on EC – Jean Mensa

General News on Thursday, May 23, 2019

Source: Graphic.com.gh

2019-05-23

The President of the Electoral Commission, Jean Mensa, said that if the Commission continues to seek consensus for the fulfillment of its mandate, it would oppose any attempt to impose on anyone a body or a person .

In specifically addressing the question of whether the role of the Inter-party Advisory Committee interferes with the functioning of the Commission, Ms. Jean Mensa stated that, even though he did not consider IPAC as an interference, it had to remain an advisory body and not an organ to impose its will on the government. Commission.

The President of the EC, who spoke on Wednesday during an interview with Graphic Online while leading Commission officials to visit Graphic Communications Group Limited in Accra, said that the independence of the Commission was undoubted, stressing that the 4th Republican Constitution its autonomy is specific, the Commission can not be bound by the opinion of anybody.

The National Democratic Congress (NDC), a member of IPAC that brings together political parties and other key election stakeholders in an advisory body, recently challenged a number of decisions of the EC and requested corrective measures.

However, Ms. Jean Mensa stated that while dialogue, consensus-building and research remained essential in the way the Commission fulfilled its mandate, there was nothing to weaken its independence if the search for consensus failed.

"I think it's an advisory body, as you rightly said, an exchange of ideas and, hopefully, a consensus. I think it is an organ that has been set up to allow the EC to inform political parties of its decisions. Naturally, when you follow a registration process, you must inform the parties 21 days in advance of the exercise and specify the terms and conditions. It is always best to do it in person rather than writing it down or publishing a notice. So, we do not find that IPAC interferes, but we find that some elements of society are trying to enforce IPAC at the Commission and are trying to reduce or actually dilute the independence EC.

"The Commission derives its roots and mandate from the Constitution. Nowhere in the law does it say that the EC should be bound by the advice of any other body. Indeed, they say that they can not be bound by the advice of any body. , and the fact that we are stakeholders does not mean (we should) change the law, tilt it and misinform the public … Yes, it's great to build a consensus, but if you can not create a consensus among everyone, it will not affect the work of the EC. The EC is an independent body. He does not draw his powers from any individual and I think it's important that we affirm that. Therefore, people can not insinuate and give lies to try to impose their will on the Commission, it will not work, "she says.

Ms. Jean Mensa said that even if disagreements could not be entirely excluded from the work of the Commission, the electoral body would continue to dialogue, research and consult before making decisions.

"A typical example is what we discussed with the registration mode for district level elections. Naturally, everyone would like to have a polling station on their doorstep and that's the ideal situation, but here we are, you have a $ 56 million proposal, and you're asked to sign it in order to be able to refurbish obsolete kits. and to procure some new ones. And you bring in a biometrics consultant, but this consultant is the consultant who advised the EC in 2011, when the decision was made to move to biometrics. So he designed the architecture and the rest. The EC makes it come and says that it is the proposal that is presented to us, we are obliged to sign it, we say that we want to know more. So, he does his badysis and he says no, since 2011, the technology has evolved. Who receives a brand new Samsung 2019 and says that I like the one of 2011 and that it is more expensive? And if you also have to renovate, it will cost you a lot to renovate and even buy them. It does not count. We were therefore of the opinion that no, nothing binds us and especially when you have no contract, these are proposals that are in front of you and you can decide to accept it or leave it .

"What we intend to do, is to ensure a good price-quality ratio. Our elections … were considered the highest (in terms of costs). It's not a label that you like, I mean it's what makes it expensive, it's a part of those unnecessary costs that weigh on people's pockets, and we need to promote efficiency while reducing costs and optimizing resources. There is no need to put unearned money in the pockets of individuals when the taxpayer suffers. "