Electoral Commission says it operates an open door policy

The Central Regional Electoral Officer, Mrs Pauline Adobea Dadzawa, has said the Electoral Commission (EC) would continue to maintain its open door policy which enables political parties and other stakeholders to interact freely.

She said the open door policy it has adopted makes it very difficult for cheating during elections.

Mrs Dadzawa said this at a day’s capacity building workshop for political parties and the media on theme “the inbuilt integrity of Ghana’s electoral process”.

The workshop, which was aimed at enhancing the credibility of the 2012 general elections, was funded by the Department for International Development (DFID) of the UK-Aid and supported by KAB Governance Consult and attended by members from the various political parties together with journalists and newsmen.

Mrs Dadzawa explained that the workshop had been designed to strengthen the relationship between the EC and the various political parties as well as the media.

Mr Kwesi Afriyie Badu, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of KAB Governance Consult in an interview, said this intervention by the EC will strengthen the pillars of transparency in the electoral process which makes it difficult for anybody to manipulate it.

He gave an example of the process as the EC collaborating with the political parties in printing ballot papers to ensure that approved figures were printed and also the engagement of polling station party agents to monitor elections.

He said in areas where the number of eligible voters are more than the number in the biometric register even after adding transferred voters, the EC will have no other option than to cancel the results.

Mr Afriyie Badu challenged the media to update their knowledge about the electoral processes to ensure fair, accurate and objective coverage in the next general elections.

The media as a stakeholder is the mouth piece of the nation and that any information they give out is considered the truth, they should therefore be vigilant during that period, he said.

Source: GNA