The Electoral Commission (EC) will be fair and transparent in the conduct of this year’s general elections, the Chairperson of the EC, Mrs. Jean Mensa, has assured all stakeholders.

She said the EC had instituted reforms to ensure that the election was devoid of any manipulations.

She added that the EC had also involved its primary stakeholders in every activity it had so far undertaken to ensure transparency, accountability and credibility of the polls.

“As a commission, we are helping build transparency and accountability into our internal processes ahead of the election and we are of the fair conviction that how we conduct ourselves before, during and after the election will be critical to the peaceful outcome we expect to see on the voting day and the days following,” the EC chairperson said.

Mrs. Mensa gave the assurance last Sunday in Accra at the national launch of the 2020 Agent of Peace Campaign by the Church of Pentecost.

The campaign, which is on the theme: “Seek Peace and Pursue it (Psalm 34:14)”, seeks to educate and challenge Ghanaians to be agents of peace as the nation prepares towards Election 2020.

Transparency and accountability

Mrs. Mensa said the EC was undertaking its duties to ensure that the will of Ghanaians and of God would stand, adding that “with God being my guide and helper, I am confident that I will not let him and the people of Ghana down”.

“As a Christian, I am a firm believer in the principles that Christ stands for: justice, peace and truth. I am committed to ensuring that these principles are reflected in everything that both I and the commission do, I am committed to being fair to conducting my activities without fear or favour,” she said.

Mrs. Mensa urged the various political parties to join hands with the EC to educate the citizenry about its operations and activities, indicating that such a partnership would help promote the needed peace.

She said the EC’s priority was to ensure peace in the conduct of the elections.

“We recognise that this year is a crucial year as we go to the polls on December 7. What we say and do will have a positive or negative bearing on the nation. We have, therefore, resolved that our activities and words should leave a lasting and positive impact on our dear nation,” she said.

She urged the media to remain the gatekeepers of Ghana’s democracy and play their role as envisaged by the framers of the constitution.

“As the gate way to information, you must be decorous in your communication and must not use your platform to mislead citizens or fuel strife and confusion. It behoves you, as channels of information, to be instruments and agents of peace,” she said.

Free and fair election

For his part, the Chairman of the Church of Pentecost, Apostle Eric Nyamekye, commended the EC for a smooth compilation of the new biometric voters’ register.

He, however, indicated that for an election to be viewed as free and fair, all the processes in the chain, from the voters’ registration to the declaration of the results, played very key roles.

As a result, he urged the EC to undertake its activities and conduct itself in such a manner that would elicit the confidence of all the stakeholders.

Ensuring peace

On the part of the political parties and candidates, Apostle Nyamekye encouraged them to undertake their politics in a manner that did not seek to malign their opponents.

“The politics of insults, ethnocentric trivialities and unnecessary rivalry that exacerbate tensions should be brought to an end in our political discourse and other forms of engagements,” he said.

He also appealed to Ghanaians to be objective and constructive in their criticisms and not to be unduly blinded by this political colouration.

“Let us have the courage to correct our politicians when they go wrong and appreciate and encourage them when they do what is fitting and proper,” the COP chairman said.

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