EC holds IPAC meeting today

The Electoral Commission will today hold an Inter Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meeting to deliberate on several issues concerning the 2016 elections.

One of the issues likely to be strongly discussed at the meeting is the decision by the EC to withdraw certificates of political parties without district offices by the end of May.

According to the EC laws governing the registration of political parties in Ghana, all parties must have district offices in order to reflect their regional representation and balance.

The decision by the EC has been met with strong criticisms from some political parties and governance experts including including Dr. Kwesi Jonah who says the EC has no right to suspend political parties simply because they have no district offices.

“Nowhere in the constitution and nowhere in the law does it say offices; it says organise and in these days of technology, you could organise everywhere without being physically present. Moreover, it is the registration that matters, so once you are registered, finished.

“Everywhere in the world, all democracies have bigger parties and smaller parties and they all have their unique roles they play for the democracy to grow,” Jonah told the gathering.

Other issues likely to be discussed also includes the recently ended limited voter’s registration held across the country.