Africa-Press – Ghana. Private legal practitioner, Bobby Banson has called on the Electoral Commission (EC) to stop communicating to political parties in Ghana through press conferences.
According to the private legal practitioner, the Inter- Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) was established as the forum to address concerns of political parties, hence the Electoral Commission’s penchant for addressing the parties through press conferences does not help in building consensus.
“The IPAC is established to provide the necessary counsel to the Electoral Commission as it discharges its constitutional mandate. It is supposed to address issues and concerns raised by political parties even though it is not backed by law or the Constitution of Ghana” he explained in an interview on September 19, 2023.
He noted that like the EC, the political parties play a vital role in the development of the country’s democracy.
“We cannot ignore the political parties as they have a stake in elections of Ghana. Therefore, addressing the concerns of political parties through press conferences is not the best, it won’t build consensus.” he argued.
The Lawyer stressed that the Electoral Commission’s communication through press briefings is not the best.
“I do not think the EC communicated its intentions through a press conference and then it comes to address them through another form of communication, it connotes lack of trust between the EC and political parties,” Mr. Banson stated.
He called for peaceful co-existence in the interest of Ghanaians.
It would be recalled that the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission of Ghana, Mr. Jean Mensa, on Monday, 18th September, 2023, addressed certain concerns raised by some political parties and civil society organizations through a press briefing at their headquarters in Accra.
This followed persistent calls for the EC to increase the number of registration centres for the ongoing limited voter registration to enable as many eligible voters as possible, register.
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