EC rebranding needless – Ex EC Dir.

A former Chief Director of the Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana, Kwame Damoah-Agyemang, has criticised the EC for neglecting important issues and rather embarking on a rebranding exercise, which in his view is “unimportant”.

Mr Damoah-Agyemang also holds the view that certain pronouncements from the EC do not augur well for the smooth administration of elections in the country “especially with regards to rebranding and other things”.

To him, cleaning of the voters’ register was a far more important issue, which needs much attention, thus, feels the EC must “come out clearly and tell us the method to be used for cleaning of the register because it is a cardinal document for the conduct of the election”.

He accused the EC of holding back vital information and not doing enough to educate the public, especially those in the hinterlands on the limited voter registration exercise scheduled to take place from Thursday April 28 to Sunday May 8.

The exercise will afford Ghanaians, who are 18 years or older, but do not have their names on the electoral roll, to register and exercise their franchise during the November 7, 2016, elections and subsequent polls.

He criticised the EC for discarding its experienced staff whose expertise would have been crucial for a successful election.

“Election administration is learnt on the job, so, if you meet some people already in the system, you can do with their experience, and, using your administrative skills, you achieve success together,” Mr Damoah-Agyeman argued.

“I do not think she [EC boss Charlotte Osei] herself is well-grounded in election administration. Even so, she cannot be everywhere at the same time. So, please, she should utilise expertise, so we can have a free, fair, and credible election.”