A former Chairman of the Electoral Commission (EC), Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan has disagreed with a proposal to make the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) a statutory body with its functions backed by law because it will amount to an interference with the commission’s work.
He said this in response to a request by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) to make IPAC’s rulings legally binding. The NDC wants the Electoral Commission Act, 1993, Act 451, to be amended to clarify the commission’s composition and powers. However, Dr. Afari-Gyan, who was instrumental in the founding of IPAC, does not support the NDC’s proposal.
According to him, this will be in contravention of the constitutional provision which guarantees the independence of the Electoral Commission.
“The Constitution clearly says that in doing its work, the EC should not take instructions from any person or body external to the commission. The IPAC is such a body. Accordingly, IPAC decisions cannot be binding on the EC. If they were, it would, in effect, amount to nothing less than meddling with the independence of the commission”, he said to the Daily Graphic.
Source: Ghanapubliceye.com/Jennifer Owusu
