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The African Electoral Institute (AEI) has warned that some of the challenges that confronted the just-ended voter transfer exercise conducted by the Electoral Commission are likely to resurface in the 7 December 2024 polls.
In a statement, AEI listed irregular power supply, poor internet connectivity, poor publicity of the exercise, disruption by the weather (rainfall), security challenges and the busing of people to transfer centres where they are not known or hail from by some individuals and alleged politicians to transfer their votes, as some of the challenges they observed.
In light of these, AEI advised the Electoral Commission to take their relationship with the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) seriously in addressing these challenges.
"The Electoral Commission is working for the Political Parties and the country as a whole and should therefore carry IPAC along in their deliberations to birth consensus decisions and agreements that are acceptable to all."
"The African Electoral Institute(AEI) reiterate that democracy is very expensive; but since democracy has no alternative, it behoves all of us, politicians and non-politicians to work hard to sustain the peace of the country by committing our resources and energies to make sure that our democratic journey is entrenched," the statement added.
Read the full statement below:
PRESS RELEASE.
TO: ALL MEDIA HOUSES
DATE: 15th JUNE, 2024.
REPORT BY THE AFRICAN ELECTORAL INSTITUTE (AEI) ON THE JUST-ENDED VOTE TRANSFER /VOTER CARD REPLACEMENT/ PROXY EXERCISE UNDERTAKEN BY THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION(EC) FROM 30TH MAY, 2024 TO 14TH JUNE, 2024.
The African Electoral Institute(AEI) wish to congratulate Ghanaians including all the political stakeholders, the Electoral Commission, the Security agencies and Civil Society Organizations for the cooperation and collaboration with the Electoral Commission for a successful exercise.
The African Electoral Institute(AEI), even though it is satisfied with the exercise, the AEI must state that the exercise was not without challenges.
Some of the challenges are similar to those that occurred during the limited voter registration exercise in May 2024.
Challenges such as:
1. Irregular power supply,
2. Poor internet connectivity,
3. Poor publicity of the exercise,
4. Disruption by the weather(rainfall)5. Security challenges,
and;
6. The bussing of people to transfer centers where they are not known or hail from by some individuals and alleged politicians to transfer their votes.
CAUTION
The African Electoral Institute (AEI) wishes to caution the EC, the Security Agencies, Political Parties, and Ghanaians that most of the above challenges are likely to re-occurre during the General Elections on 7th December, 2024.
African Electoral Institute therefore pleads that the EC and the Inter Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) should endeavour to find solutions to these challenges enumerated above.
The African Electoral Institute wish to state also that the hurriedly issued directive by the EC on the second day of the exercise to all its officials involved in the registration exercise across the country not to allow political party agents to observe the exercise citing an altercation in Awutu Senya East between some political activists that led to some people sustaining injuries was unfortunate .
The African Electoral Institute (and other Stakeholders) issued a Press Release admonishing the EC to allow the various political parties to observe the exercise in the interest of fairness and transparency. The EC adhered to this sound advice and rescinded their decision. The AEI wishes to commend the EC for the withdrawal of that directive.
It is in light of the above that the African Electoral Institute (AEI) continuously advises the Electoral Commission to take their relationship with the Inter Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) seriously. The Electoral Commission is working for the Political Parties and the country as a whole and should therefore carry IPAC along in their deliberations to birth consensus decisions and agreements that are acceptable to all.
The African Electoral Institute(AEI) reinterate that democracy is very expensive; but since democracy has no alternative, it behoves all of us , politicians and non politicians to work hard to sustain the peace of the country by committing our resources and energies to make sure that our democratic journey is entrenched.
The African Electoral Institute wish to thank all voices of reason or wisdom who appealed to the Electoral Commission to rescind its decision for the sake of transparency and integrity of the process, leading to a reversal of the decision which to a large extent calmed down nerves, allowing the process to progress peacefully even though occasionally, some hitches were reported.
The African Electoral Institute believes that elections is a process and not an event and therefore encourages all citizens to take such exercises seriously since that is the surest way they can be part of the electoral process from the beginning until the final phase comes off on 7th December 2024.
SIGNED:
Augustus Eshun
Director of Communication and External Relations
African Electoral Institute ( AEI) is a Civil Society Organisation (CSO) founded to deliver sustainable electoral solutions to Emerging and Developed Democracies to strengthen, augment, and build electoral stakeholders capacity and participation on electoral issues through electoral education on voter’s rights and freedom, electoral research, election monitoring, election observation, election results collation, election security awareness and training of polling agents and elections directors underscoring the fact that "elections are won at the polling stations’’ and the participation of all identifiable electoral stakeholders in an electoral process such as Political Parties, Governmental Institutions, underpinning transparency and accountability for a free, fair, and credible elections in Africa and the wider world.
Motto: “Integrity of Choice”
