The National Democratic Congress (NDC) says it did not submit its proposals for electoral reforms to the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) because the Committee is problematic.
The party has outlined 34 Electoral reforms after it boycotted an Electoral Commission (EC) led efforts towards reforms.
The party says it wants the appointment of EC chairperson to have prior approval of Parliament whilst insisting the voting period of 7:00 am to 5:00 pm on Election Day be maintained.
Speaking on Joy FM’s Top Story Wednesday, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, General Secretary of the NDC, said: “We have been discussing these proposals at IPAC, but now one of the problems is the IPAC itself.
“The IPAC itself needs to be fixed. So you don’t go discussing a problem in a problematic forum. That is why we have to reach out to other stakeholders.”
This is necessary, according to the opposition party’s chief scribe, because “the EC, apart from touting its independence and all that, they themselves have demonstrated that they need input from outside stakeholders before they will be able to do their work.”
Last week, the NDC started consultations with various stakeholders on the party’s proposals for electoral reforms.
This is contained in a press statement issued by the party’s Director of Elections, Elvis Afriyie-Ankrah, dated August 8.
The statement explained that the proposals for electoral reforms and the resultant consultations are borne out of the “serious flaws and failings” the party observed during a comprehensive review and audit of the 2020 elections that “affected the credibility of the elections.”
The NDC stated that after broad consultations, the party has come up with 34 recommendations for consideration by both government and the EC.
According to the statement, when these recommendations are implemented, it will help restore the credibility of Ghana’s elections.
Below is the full statement: