Mr Godwin Edudzi Tamaklo, Director, Legal Affairs, National Democratic Congress (NDC), says it is important for polling agents to be educated on the nation’s electoral laws to ensure credible elections in the country.
He said polling agents must be educated particularly on the Constitutional Instrument (CI) 126 which governed voter registration and CI 127 which centred on the election process.
He said by equipping polling agents with the proper understanding of the electoral laws, they would become empowered to ensure compliance with the laws during voting at the polling stations.
‘An agent is not just an observer or a glorified spectator. The polling agent is there to play a certain critical role, including certifying that what has happened on the election day accords with the requirements of the law.’ Mr Tamaklo said.
He made these statements on Tuesday during a seminar held at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) as part of activities to mark the GIMPA Law Students’ Assoc
iation’s Week celebration.
The Seminar was on the topic: ‘Enhancing the Integrity of Elections 2024 – A Review of the Electoral Laws of Ghana’.
Mr Tamaklo noted that the right to vote was a fundamental human right that should be preserved at all times.
He advocated the acceptance of the birth certificate as one of the documents for voter registration, as it contained the needed evidence, including a person’s age, parentage, and citizenship.
Mr Yaw Appau, a former Justice of the Supreme Court, called on political party leaders to be truthful to their supporters on matters concerning elections.
He noted that when party leaders intentionally spread falsehood, it could incite the electorate to cause mayhem and consequently ruin the nation’s electoral process.
Mr Appau said the electorate should also be discerning and probe the utterances of their party leaders to avoid being deceived.
‘As supporters, we must not hastily act on everything that the politicians say. We must let them provide the basis for the
things they tell us. We should be able to put the party leaders on their toes so that we can safeguard the peace in the country.’
Mr Appau advised the Electoral Commission to listen to the views and concerns of all stakeholders in the electoral process to build consensus and undertake options for the best interest of the country.
Mr Ebenezer Sefa-Kissi, President of the GIMPA Law Students’ Association, said the electoral system alone would not safeguard peace in the country, adding that, the electoral laws must also be applied to guarantee a peaceful election.
He encouraged citizens to use the law courts to address their grievances on electoral matters instead of resorting to violence.
He urged his fellow Law students to study Ghana’s Electoral Laws so that they could be good advocates for the nation’s peace and stability.
Source: Ghana News Agency