The two leading political parties in Ghana are split over the Electoral Commission (EC)’s proposition to reducing voting time during the election from the 7 am to 5 pm time duration to a 7 am to 4 pm timeframe.
While the ruling New Patriotic Party has welcomed the move and suggested that it would have been even ideal if the time was reduced further, the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has chosen to err on the side of caution.
In a radio interview that Elvis Afriyie Ankrah, Director of Elections at the NDC granted today, he said that the forum where the EC had announced the intended time alteration was not appropriate.
“I think that there is an appropriate forum for such issues and that is IPAC (Inter Party Advisory Committee). The EC Chair should bring her proposal there so that we can properly consider it,” Mr. Afriyie Ankrah said.
The EC Chair, Jean Mensa, revealed the new intent at the opening ceremony of an ECOWAS-UN Workshop on Tuesday. She said the commission is considering reviewing the voting duration downwards ahead of the 2020 elections.
“As a commission, we are not only keen to ensure a peaceful and conducive voting environment but we are keen to guarantee the security of the ballot and make every vote count. In this regard, one of the issues that has occupied our mind is the duration of voting,” she said.
As it would turn out, Madam Jean Mensah who has been accused severally by the NDC of taking decisions without consulting the political parties, was announcing a tentative unilateral decision that she had not discussed with the parties to the public.
Mr. Elvis Afriyie Ankrah of the NDC pointed out that the announcement had been done on the inappropriate forum.
On the part of the NPP, while its Director of Elections, Elvis Nimako, has been gung-ho about the EC’s move even he cautioned the EC to woo all parties involved on board first.
“I think for us at the New Patriotic Party, this would be welcoming news because it is important that the management of election day voting activity is looked into properly. However, it is also critical that the Electoral Commission will extend the consultation so they should come to the platform for stakeholders to have their input,” he noted on Citi FM’s Eye Witness News.
