General News of Wednesday, 1 April 2015

Source: starrfmonline.com

Ghana’s “tin god” EC must copy Nigeria’s proficient INEC

Former President John Agyekum Kufuor has admonished Ghana’s Electoral Commission (EC) to take a cue from Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) regarding how it conducted Saturday’s general elections which saw opposition leader Muhammadu Buhari beat incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan.

Mr. Kufuor, who led an ECOWAS Election Observer delegation to monitor the elections said the head of INEC Prof Attahiru Jega must be praised for the professional manner he conducted the polls.

According to Kufuor, unlike INEC, Ghana’s Electoral Commission headed by Dr Kwadwo Afari Gyan, who has been at the helm of affairs for well over two decades, has become a ‘tin god’ stuck in its old ways and not accommodating to any form of change.

He has suggested that the EC adopts the Nigeria model of organising national elections.

Mr. Kufuor stressed that INEC used only well-educated people as its collation officers to represent the various states and urged Ghana’s EC to move away from using illiterates during elections.

Muhammadu Buhari, a former army general won the historic presidential election with over two million votes. His main contender, incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan has conceded defeat.

Voting in the oil-producing West African nation was done along a complex mix of ethnic, regional and in some cases religious lines.

But Mr. Kufuor told Peace FM’s Kokrokoo host Kwame Sefa Kai Wednesday that the election results were credible and said the process was free and fair across the nation.