Here’s what will make the NDC rescind its non-participation in IPAC meetings

• The NDC has been responding to some election reform proposals put out by the EC following a recent IPAC meeting although they have boycotted their meetings

• The NDC has blamed their boycott on the posture of the EC Chairperson, Jean Mensa

• But, Sammy Gyamfi gives us a fair idea what could bring it out of this boycott sooner than later

Since the general elections of December 2020, the main opposition party in Ghana, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has not participated in IPAC meetings.

The NDC boycotted the meetings of the Inter-Party Advisory Committee because of what it believes is the EC Chair, Jean Mensa’s display of bias, lack of candour and duplicity during the election period.

Information from the Electoral Commission (EC) says that the concept of IPAC was conceived by the Commission based on experiences gained from the 1992 general elections when it came under intense criticism, especially from political parties in opposition, ranging from the electoral process or the conduct of the polls through to suspicion.

IPAC was, therefore, formed in March 1994 to bring together representatives of the political parties on a monthly basis with members of the EC to discuss and try to build a consensus on electoral issues.

But, speaking on Saturday, May 22, 2021, edition of NewsFile on the JoyNews channel, and monitored by GhanaWeb, Sammy Gyamfi, the National Communications Officer of the NDC said that there could be a window to return from their boycott sooner than expected.

“The NDC’s boycott of IPAC is not an exercise in futility. And Yaw Asamoa Buaben and the NPP should stop displaying double standards and hypocrisy on this matter. In 2016, they raised very similar issue to what we are raising today about the posture of the leadership of the EC at the time and indicated that they were going to boycott IPAC and all that so, we don’t want the current status quo to stand. We want changes and such protests are allowed in democratic processes.

But then, just like Dr, Serebuor said, and I want to make the point that if the Chairperson of the EC, Madam Jean Mensa, and her deputy, Bossman Asare, will adopt the posture Dr. Serebuor Quaicoe has displayed on NewsFile this morning – I hope it is genuine, I’m sure that our boycott will be called off within the shortest possible time. It is that posture we are looking for,” he explained.