2020 Polls: Rigging Claims Laughable – EC

The Director of Electoral Services at the Electoral Commission (EC) has laughed off suggestions that the Electoral Commission would rig the 2020 polls in favor of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP).

According to Dr. Serebour Quaicoe, it is not possible for any member of the Commission to temper with the election results.

He stated that in most cases the media even gets the results before the EC declares it, the very reason the claim of rigging the 2020 polls is untenable.

The EC staff noted that from 1992 to 2016 the Commission had been accused of rigging every election in the country.

Speaking at a news conference organized by the Free And Fair Election International, a non-governmental organization in Accra on Monday, Dr. Quaicoe was emphatic that it is not possible that anybody can ever manipulate the election results in favour of any party.

He stated that the Commissions after assessing its current system had resolved that it is not good enough for the 2020 elections adding that “The current machines have outlived their usefulness…”

On the brouhaha surrounding the compilation of the new voters register, Dr. Quaicoe said “We are saying that we are not comfortable going to 2020 elections with this register, so let us compile a new one, that is the basic thing…”

He said there would be exhibition of the voters register stressing that one of the essence of exhibition is for people to object to names of deceased persons.

Dr. Quaicoe argued that the resister is for the living not the dead and that what is even becoming dangerous is the introduction of the manual verification.

Chairperson for the occasion Ben Annan also a lawyer at the Kimberly Chambers and Consultancy said the Commission was established by the 1992 constitution and wondered why some Ghanaian viewed the working of the commission as though it emerged from utter space and have usurped certain functions it does not have.

He said it has always been the issue of bastardzing and making Satan out of the Commission.

Lawyer Annan indicated that there had been a lot of law suits against the Commission and that during elections, three is the need to fortify and candidate security around the EC’s Office as well as providing security for senior officers of the Commission.

Michael Baodu another officer of the Commission said the Commission was going to strictly agree to the COVID-19 protocols in the voter registration exercise.

Meanwhile, the Commission has set Tuesday, June 30, to begin the compilation of new voters‘ register for the presidential and parliamentary elections in December.