You are here: HomeNews2013 03 01Article 266374

Politics of Friday, 1 March 2013

Source: peacefmonline

EC: 2012 Election review is without prejudice to court case

Public Relations Officer of the Electoral Commission (EC) Mrs Sylvia Annor has indicated that the EC review of the 2012 December elections will not affect the election petition at the Supreme Court.

The EC on Thursday began a review of the 2012 elections to assess its shortfalls, starting from the Ashanti Region.

The EC was supported by the Department for International Development (DFID) and facilitated by KAB Governance Consult.

The EC is being challenged over the conduct of the elections and various irregularities that occurred during the December 7 elections at the Supreme Court.

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) claims the election was not free and fair and has petitioned the Supreme Court to look into the matter and give a fair ruling.

One would think the EC’s review programme will likely affect the case in Court or can even be cited for contempt of Court.

However, Speaking on Citi FM, Mrs Sylvia Annor said the review ‘is without prejudice to the court proceedings’ because it is a normal routine of the Commission.

“It is a normal thing that the EC have been doing over the years. Reviews are normal and it is just prudence that we go back to the drawing table; so it will in no way affect the court proceedings. This is the beginning of a series of workshop to look at the 2012 elections in perspective and to find out what went wrong.

"It is aimed at reviewing the whole process of the elections...this is a normal process. We do a SWOT analysis (Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threat) to find out what kind of problems emanated and come out with suggestions to improve on it the next time…” she asserted.