Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, the majority leader, has led Parliament in rejecting Electoral Commission (EC) reform plans for the 2024 elections.
Mrs. Jean Adukwei Mensah, the Commission’s Chairperson, has announced a number of reforms, including shutting polls at 3 p.m. and eliminating indelible ink.
The commission failed to use indelible ink in the District Level Elections on Tuesday, despite its determination.
Speaking in Parliament after the EC’s budget approval, Sagnerigu Member of Parliament AB Fuseini stated that the EC’s decision contradicts the Public Elections Regulations, 2020 CI 127 section 33 (2) C, which requires every voter to be marked after voting.
As a result, he requested that the speaker call the chairwoman of the EC to order.
Member of Parliament for Buem Kofi Adams also lambasted the EC for the shambles that occurred during yesterday’s elections, claiming that the process had previously been postponed twice, giving the commission no reason to do it wrong.
Asawase MP Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak disclosed that the EC’s refusal to decentralize the restricted registration operation resulted in voters being assigned to the wrong Electoral Areas, making it impossible for them to vote in the District-Level Elections on Tuesday.
The Asawase legislator also requested that the Commission be called to order.
In his turn, Deputy Minority Whip Ibrahim Ahmed accused the administration of providing goods to persuade voters in yesterday’s election.
The Banda MP, on the other hand, said that such government-backed hopefuls were defeated because the voters refused to be purchased.
Frank Annoh-Dompreh, the majority whip, questioned why the NDC MPs are attributing the EC’s shortcomings to NPP Presidential Candidate and Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.
According to him, the EC is an autonomous entity that must account for its own activities.
The majority leader has warned that the measures suggested and implemented by the EC will be terrible if allowed to stand.