The two leading political parties in the country, the NPP and the NDC have disagreed on proposed modalities for appointing the chairman of the Electoral Commission (EC).
Some political parties that have been critical of the Electoral Commission over the years want Parliament to be the institution that approves the appointment of the EC chair.
They want the EC boss’ appointment confirmed by a two-thirds majority of lawmakers.
Proponents of this believe it enable Ghanaians to have confidence in the work of the EC boss as well as prevent the EC from being intransigent in its work.
NPP’s former national chairman, Peter Mac-Manu supports the proposals and justified them in an interview with XYZ News.
He said “the current system where the President of the Republic subject to consultation with Council of state appoints [EC Chairman] is not enough in our democratic dispensation.
“What should be done is that our representation in Parliament which constitutes another major arm of our democracy must be involved like it is happening in Nigeria, Liberia and other countries”.
But the NDC’s general secretary, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah strongly disagrees with the position of the opposition NPP.
He told XYZ News that the attempt to paint the EC black and downgrade its performance over the years will be counter-productive.
“I do not subscribe to any view that the Electoral Commission is overly intransigent, they must have a level of intransigence to stick to their principles”.
Mr. Asiedu Nketia added that the perception that the Chairman of the Electoral Commission kowtows to the ruling party during general election is faulty and must be fought.
Source: GhanaWeb
