Old logo better represented the work we do – Bossman Asare

A Deputy Chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC) in charge of administration, Dr. Bossman Asare says the Commission went back to its old logo because it represents the EC better.

The EC announced in a memo on Tuesday, December 4, that it was going back to use the Commission’s old logo which was changed by the former Commissioner, Charlotte Osei.

The logo that was unveiled in 2016 by the former Chairperson as part of a rebranding process courted controversy for months.

Following the swearing in of new members of the Commission now led by Jean Mensa, steps have been taken to replace the new logo on its letterhead and other properties.

According to Dr. Asare, it is important for an organisation in charge of overseeing elections in the country to have an image that suits that mandate.

“I will say without any shadow of doubt that it was necessary, and it is still necessary because members of the commission felt that logo was more representative of the work we do, and I think the thinking also has to do with the fact that when we look at the logo, on the face of it you will see that this is an election management body.

“You will see transparency embedded, fairness embedded, integrity embedded, you will see a ballot box, and you are also going to see somebody putting a ballot paper in the box. You will see the coat of arms which is so unique as far as Ghana is concerned,” Dr. Asare told TV3.

He however said the Commission under the current commissioners is not too focused on re-branding.

“I do not think the Commission under Mrs. Mensa is so much concerned about branding, because we are not an organization that is really competing with other organizations, we just want to live up to the expectation of our mandate.

“So from where I sit as well as the seven commissioners, we strongly believe this one is more representative of what we do as an organization, you do not struggle to explain.”

The Deputy Commissioner further stated that the leadership of the EC is more focused on “looking at the policy direction of the organisation, so where are we heading to? Do we have a logo that will speak really about what we do? Do we have logo where our workers can easily identify with…So those were the things that came up, and we feel that if we do the sankofa and go back, it will be better.”

Dr. Bossman Asare noted that the Commission has been doing a lot of work since the new leadership took over.

They are working on promoting staff due for promotion in order to further position the EC for the many tasks ahead, he said.

He added that the Commission is also preparing for the referenda on the creation of new regions in the country.