There must be trust between Electoral Commission and citizens - Prof Gyampo

Professor Ransford Gyampo, a Senior Political Science Lecturer at the University of Ghana, has advocated for the building of trust between the Electoral Commission (EC) and the citizenry as part of efforts to strengthen Ghana’s democracy.

He said the outcome of the 2020 general election and the Presidential Election Petition had deepened the already existing trust deficit of the EC by the citizenry.

Prof Gyampo said this in a Virtual Public Forum, organised by the Progressive Intellectuals on Ghana’s 2020 Presidential Election Petition.

Speaking on the topic: “The 2020 Election Petition and the Future of Ghana’s Electoral Commission,” Prof Gyampo said the multiple mistakes that were made by the EC in declaring the presidential results and correcting same, without allowing key stakeholders from benefiting from inside explanation, allegedly raised trust issues.

He said he was hopeful the Court, in its final ruling, would make some recommendations for some electoral reforms to be undertaken by the EC.

Prof Gyampo said the EC, on its own, could also take certain steps to undergo electoral reforms.

“…From what had happened, I can tell that the Commission would continue to suffer trust deficits not only from the opposition Party but possibly from civil society organisations, the public and even the current ruling party,” he said.

“Given our recent history on the removal of the immediate past Chairperson of the EC and her deputies for several reasons…, a heightened trust deficit in the Commission, needless to say, may potentially disturb the security of tenure of its current heads in a manner that, in my view, would undermine continuity and quest to build strong and independent institutions.”