The Electoral Commission (EC) has hit back at Ghanaians saying although the entire process rests on their shoulders, they are not responsible for election security.
According to her, the EC cannot be held responsible for the electoral violence which claimed some lives in the 2020 Presidential and Parliamentary Elections.
Speaking at an IPAC review workshop on the 2020 polls, Chairperson of the Commission, Jean Mensa said “I have read the constitution and security is not part of our core mandate. I use this occasion to clarify that the EC is not responsible for election security, although the entire election and its success rest on the shoulders of the Commission. Our mandate as entrenched in the Constitution does not include security.”
Madam Mensa described the loss of lives as an exceedingly disturbing challenge
"And we say never again. Never again should we go to an election and have anybody lose their lives. Here also, there is a tendency for fingers to be pointed at the EC when security is not the core mandate of the EC" she mentioned. The move by the EC Chair to condemn electoral violence has been described as a bold step
It will be recalled that Madam Jean Mensa and her team showed praises on themselves saying the 2020 elections conducted was fair, transparent, and with any electoral violence.
Thinknewsonline.com has gathered that about 61 cases have been recorded as before and after election violence
Meanwhile, the immediate past Head of the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS), Dr. Mohammed Ibn Chambas, has said "The deaths that were recorded in the 2020 general elections have dented the country’s image. Ghana needs to work to reclaim its enviable democratic credentials on the continent"
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Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith