We Saved EC – Minority

O.B Amoah
The Minority in Parliament has justified its decision to reject the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2016 which was seeking to change the voting day from December 7 to November 7 in every election year.

The Bill, which was submitted by the Electoral Commission (EC), needed the Minority support to obtain the 184 votes required to amend an entrenched clause in the 1992.

The Bill failed to get the endorsement of the two-thirds majority of the 275 Members of Parliament (MPs) through secret voting, with 125 in favour of the bill and 95 against.

The Bill was proposed was to enable governments to use 60 days to prepare for handing over on January 7 after every general elections and not the current 30 days which is believed to be insufficient.

Even though some NDC members have stated that the NPP MPs voted against it because they were not ready and possibly habour the fear of losing the elections, Member of Parliament (MP) for Akuapem South, Osei Bonsu Amoah, who is also chairman of the Subsidiary Legislative Committee of Parliament, believes the argument is flawed.

He added that the decision saved not only the EC as a body but Ghana as a whole.

In an interview on Accra-based Joy FM yesterday, O.B Amoah insisted that “we have rather helped the EC. If they will be sincere to themselves, we have rather helped the EC very much.”

Reason
This, according to him, was due to the fact that it would enable the EC to prepare well for the elections which is slated for December 7 this year.

He said the passage of the Bill would have put undue pressure on the EC to conduct the elections and in the process cut corners and possibly jeopardize the credibility of the crucial elections.

For him, the EC was not ready for the elections in November.

He cited shortfalls in the areas of procurement, constitutional and training, which are all yet to be addressed by the EC.

He indicated that the Constitutional Instrument (CI), which is currently before Parliament, requires 21 sitting days to mature before it can become operational.

Aside that, OB Amoah said the EC would now have to train its officers on the CI.

“If you don't have the law, which law are you going to use to train the officers?” he asked rhetorically.

“Ask them how votes are supposed to be transferred they don't have a clue because they changed the law and they have not even told their officers.

“With all due respect you can ask any official of the EC whether they have regulations for this year and what are the regulations. They don't even know because it is now that they have brought it to parliament for us to pass it,” the MP noted.

“If you are going to do elections and even you don't know the regulations on elections then how do you tell the whole world you are ready?”

Issues
He said, “The EC is already behind its own calendar. It was six weeks late to do limited registration exercise.

The exhibition exercise that we are doing now we should have done it months ago.

“What is the point of having shoddy elections and saying that we have more time for transition,” O.B Amoah quizzed.

 
EC's New Timetable
Meanwhile, the EC is planning to review its timetable to fit into the December 7 date for the elections.

Director of Communications at the EC, Eric Dzakpasu, who spoke on Citi FM, indicated that the rejection of the Bill will force the Commission to adjust its calendar, but the change would not affect their schedule significantly.

“Certainly, there must be amendments in the timetable. Every electoral activity is regulated by law and there are specific guidelines to undertake specific activities. If the election date had been brought forward much earlier than 7 November, then we would be talking about an issue. Rather it gives us room just to amend the timetable to accommodate the change to 7^th December,” he stated.

By Charles Takyi-Boadu