John Dramani Mahama, the presidential candidate of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), has spoken out against the Electoral Commission’s (EC) decision to change the polling date from December to November.
The former president feels that the electoral body’s latest plan has the potential to call into question the integrity of the elections.
The EC has proposed moving the voting date from December 7 to November 7.
Aside from this, the EC has decided to phase out the use of indelible ink for the forthcoming presidential and parliamentary elections.
Mr. Mahama responded by stating that if the planned reforms are not implemented efficiently, they could cause chaos.
He questioned why the EC waited until only eight months before the elections to propose such big revisions.
At a meeting with Clergy and Faith-based organizations in Koforidua, Mr. Mahama urged the Electoral Commission to take concerns seriously and avoid surprises for political parties.
“After every election, we sit and consider electoral reforms and we agree on what to do. Since 2020, we have only 9 months to another election and the EC has now come with major changes. No indelible ink and different reforms. When you do that it doesn’t build the confidence of the people in the electoral process.
“We have returned to IPAC after the Peace Council intervened and now they [EC] are saying they want to change the Election date and that they want to bring a new CI to change the old CI but our concern is why wait till now? You don’t spring surprises on people, what if it doesn’t work and it leads to some disturbances…so that is our position.”
Source: rainbowradioonline.com
