Recalcitrant EC needs to be restructured - Asiedu Walker

Mr. Kwame Asiedu Walker a disqualified independent presidential candidate in the upcoming December 7 presidential election has slammed the Electoral Commission (EC) and has called for a total reorganization of the electioneering body.

The candidate who was disqualified for failing to meet the requirements as set out in regulation 2 of the CI 94 described the EC as a recalcitrant institution.

He described his disqualification as frivolous and unwarranted. The design engineer decried the number of days allocated to candidates to fill their nomination forms.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with host of Eboboba, Kwabena Agyapong on Rainbow Radio 87.5Fm, Mr. Walker said, there is a big problem with the EC and there is an urgent need for reorganization.

The EC he indicated delayed the electoral processes and that formed part of the disqualification of candidates. This he described as a recipe for disaster.

The EC posturing he said is bizarre and further chided it for always claiming that they are an independent body.

The EC he added, is not an autonomous body and are accountable to the tax payer. The EC he further alleged used tricks and schemes to disqualify candidates again even after the Supreme Court had ruled and ordered them to allow candidates amend their errors.

In his view, 60 days would be appropriate for the nomination and filing of candidates for the presidential race. According to him, the EC should also adopt a mechanism to vet the forms of candidates and take money from only candidates that may qualify for the race.

‘’The EC must be efficient, accountable to the tax payer and discharge their duties with utmost integrity, diligence and credibility. And to help achieve that, the EC needs to be overhauled, ’’ he added.

A former minister of justice and attorney general, Martin Amidu has made similar comments. He has requested that the EC boss, Mrs. Charlotte Osei be impeached immediately after the elections are over.

In his statement he said, ‘’ It is too late in the month to advocate in defence of the Constitution for a reorganization of the Commission before the election, or for the impeachment of the Commissioner. This should be the task immediately after the 2016 elections – conducted by responsible members of the media, civil society, and civil society organizations who love the Republic of Ghana’s constitutional and democratic dispensation of free, fair and transparent political representation for elections and referenda. We need to put Ghana First and work tirelessly for change of governance at this year’s presidential election.’’