The NPP must be smarter on the EC electronic results transmission.

I personally don't know who actually advises NPP on technical issues, like the idea proposed by the EC to transmit this year's constituency and regional collated results by electronic.

I have listened to the position expressed by NPP on radio interviews by the Ag. General Secretary and at the press conference held yesterday on this electronic transmission idea. However, I think our approach and position as a party going into this election is not tangible enough, and I therefore see our argument as neither here nor there.

I strongly believe that the NPP can seize the opportunity to ensure proper transparency by demanding rightful inclusion of the process and turn it to our advantage, which I can see a very good advantage that NPP can benefit better from this if we make right demands, than the previous Faxing mode process of transmission of results as previously used by the EC.

What the EC has proposed, which they claim the NPP first assented to by our suspended General Secretary Kwabena Agyapong through the Electoral Reform Committee is that, after the collation of the results at the District/constituency collation centres, the white paper signed by all the political parties representatives would be scanned and sent by email to the EC regional collation centres, and then after the Reginal collation sheets signed by the parties, the regionals would then send the regional result sheets to the EC National Collation Centre in Accra by email, instead of Faxing them to Accra.

Meaning, all results sheets from the district to the regional centres and to the EC national Collation Centre in Accra are going in the form of pdf format by email, not Faxing.

This process, in my view provides good opportunity that all the political parties involved can trace and find out who sent the results sheet, at what time it was sent and who received it.

The legitimate argument and rightful demand which the NPP and all other political parties who mean well should press on from the EC to agree is that, the NPP should lead to engage the EC to agree that, since the results sheets are going to be scanned and sent by emails, the parties including NPP and all stakeholders should be allowed to provide at least one Email address so that the parties can also receive the same copies sent from and to whichever EC office, from the constituency level to the national level. Meaning, the results sheets being sent from the District Collation Centres to the Regional Centres, the parties will receieve the same as the EC received office receives, and those to the National Collation Centre in Accra, the NPP and all other stakeholders will receive the same copies by cc them on the emails the EC will use to transmit the results. This is Simple!!

By this happening, all parties will get the same email at the same time with the attachment of the results sheets sent by the EC, and waits the EC's certification and declaration.

By this, the parties can also agree that an independent third party (like the peace council or Christian Council as they may all agree) should also be copied in (cc) on the same email by EC to send the results sheets.

When received, all these parties email addresses agreed must be seen copied in the email sebt by the EC, else that results sheet cannot be accepted. I believe this is fair and legitimate demand!

This, if pushed and agreed, can ensure a proper transparency which the EC cannot deny sending or receiving those results sheets and cannot announce any other results apart from what all have received copies. Unlike the previous process used by the EC, whereby all of a sudden, the EC will appear with a sheet of paper, saying that this is the results sheet faxed by whoever and from wherever!

The next thing NPP has to argue on and demand is that, all political parties representatives must be given copies of the District and regional collation result sheets at the various collation centres after their representatives have signed the final sheets before the sheets are been scanned and sent on email. This is very imperative that the party must ask for.

Here again, even if the EC refuses to hand over copies of the collated result sheets to parties reps at the Districts and Regionals centres, the parties would eventually receive copies electronically anyway if that is agreed, so that is no much worries there.

The idea is that, before these results sheets are been sent by EC on emails, the political parties might have received majority of their polling stations pink sheets already anyway, and they will stand a better chance of comparing their independent collated results to that of the result sheets that would be received from EC by email.

Untill this is simple demand is agreed upon with the EC, the NPP and all other political parties, and perhaps a neutral third party as observer are copied in on the EC mode of electronic transmission of the results (email), the NPP as the major opposition party should not access the EC's electronic transmission process, since that will serve Not differently from the previous way where the results were been Faxed from whom and by whom?

If the EC refuses to agree on this simple request which can ensure fair transparency, then the NPP can boldly argue that the EC and their cohorts are deeply up to serious mischief.

The NPP must be smarter on this matter!!

Peter Antwi Boasiako
London.