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Jean Mensa, Chairperson of the Electoral Commission of Ghana (EC), has guaranteed Ghanaians that the upcoming 2024 general election will not be manipulated to benefit any political party.
Speaking to Ghana’s Parliament on July 19, 2024, Jean Mensa assured that the systems in place prevent any interference, including from herself, in the election results.
She stated that each party will have representatives at each stage of the process, including polling stations, district collation centers, regional collation centers, and the national collation center, to verify and attest to every result.
“I would like to start by assuring you that the commission is poised and ready to deliver free, fair, credible, transparent elections that reflect the will of the people. I can assure you that the commission will not, and this is a message we are sending to the least person in the field, that our duty is to ensure that the elections are fair, the elections are credible, the elections are transparent and open for all to see that at the end of the day, the winner is declared.
“And I would like to find out if you are aware of any loopholes in this system, because we know how the system works. We know that the system starts from the ground and it starts at the polling station. The ballots are opened up for everybody to see. We have our party agents who are present. At the end of the day, the counting is done in the full glare of the public. This is recorded, and it is recorded on the pink sheets,” she explained.
She added, “Party agents have, you know, the opportunity in law, to request a recount, if twice, one at the polling station and one at the constituency collation centre. And if they have issues, these things are resolved before the forms are filled and they append their signature to it, where the agent feels that he or she will not append his signature for certain reasons, they state so.”
The EC boss went on to explain how the election results at the polling station will be transmitted to the national collation centre.
“I would like to assure you that whatever comes from the ground, and it goes from the polling stations, where all the agents of the parties are, to the constituency collation centres, where the agents of the parties are, and this tabulation is done in their presence.
“And then from there, it goes to the regional collation centres, where the agents of the parties are. Then it comes to the national and it doesn’t come. It’s not transmitted, it’s hard copies of documents that are coming. So, it’s pink sheets that are scanned, that are sent by fax and email that come through. And we believe that by that time, the party should have copies of all these on their phones to enable you to verify. So, when you come to the national and a document, a pink sheet, is coming in from the region, your agent at the national collation centre should be able to look at it and say, this is what we signed on to.”
Jean Mensa stated that the outcomes sent to the central collation center cannot be changed by anyone.
“So, I would like to assure you there is absolutely, absolutely no way that at the helm of affairs, the commission can change anything because the documentation comes from the ground and we believe that you have copies.”
She stressed the need for political parties to make sure that their chosen agents at the different centers are capable of ensuring that everything is carried out effectively.
“From the registration to the declaration, our processes are embedded with one key ingredient, and that is transparency, transparency, transparency. As such we will continue to operate in the spirit of transparency, fairness and integrity as embedded in our motto,” she assured.
NKONKONSA.com
