The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has commenced series of consultations with various stakeholders on the party’s proposals for electoral reforms.

A release signed by the party’s Director of Elections, Mr Elvis Afriyie Ankrah, said a comprehensive review and audit of the 2020 elections by the party showed numerous serious flaws and failings that affected the credibility of the elections.

“The aftermath of the 2020 Presidential and Parliamentary Elections has left doubts on the minds of many Ghanaians and governance experts about the credibility of Ghana’s electoral process”.

Consequently, the leadership of the party commissioned a team of experts led by Nana Ato Dadzie, a Senior Advocate of the Supreme Court of Ghana, a former Chief of Staff, and a Professor of Governance, a former Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, Professor Kwamena Ahwoi, to come up with some recommendations for electoral reforms.

Recommendations

In all, the party has come up with 34 recommendations for consideration by the government and the Electoral Commission, which they say if implemented will help restore the credibility of Ghana’s elections.

These recommendations have been shared with various stakeholders, including the Electoral Commission.

According to the release, the leadership of the NDC together with the party’s technical team on electoral reforms has been holding consultations with representatives of key civil society organisations in Accra.

Some of the CSOs that participated in the meeting included the Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG), West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI), IMANI Africa, Community Focus Foundation and Africa Centre for Women in Politics.

Others were ASEPA, CARE Ghana, ISODEC, Ghana Integrity Initiative, ADAM GH and Youth Bridge Foundation.

The National Chairman of the NDC, Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, thanked the CSOs for their interest in electoral reforms.

Reforms

He extended a hand of partnership to the CSOs to support electoral reforms that will help safeguard the integrity of Ghana’s elections and democracy.

The electoral reforms committee and the leadership of the party are scheduled to meet other stakeholders such as labour unions, religious leaders, the National Peace Council, the National House of Chiefs and the Diplomatic Community in the coming weeks.

It may be recalled that the NDC rejected the results of the 2020 presidential election and proceeded to challenge the results at the Supreme Court.

Verdict

The party also disagreed with the judgment of the Supreme Court, citing obvious procedural improprieties leading to the flawed verdict.

Subsequently, the party announced a temporary boycott of the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) and Electoral Commission’s activities pending reforms that guarantee free, fair, transparent and credible elections.

The purpose of the consultations is to build consensus with key stakeholders on important reforms that are required to restore the credibility and integrity of Ghana’s electoral process, the release stated.