2008 ELECTIONS SUCCESSFUL BUT MOST CHALLENGING (PAGE 16)

THE Director of Human Resource and General Services of the Electoral Commission (EC), Mr Samuel Yorke Aidoo, has said the 2008 presidential and parliamentary elections have been described as the most successful, but also passed as the most challenging.
However, he said collectively the EC and other stakeholders were able to overcome the challenges.
Mr Aidoo was speaking on the topic, "Perspective of political party representatives on the challenges of the December elections" at a special Western Regional Inter Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meeting in Takoradi, to assess the December elections and devise strategies to improve on subsequent elections.
"We have major elections ahead of us and it is going to be tougher. Let us work in a collaborative way,” he said, adding, "Election 2012 will be a difficult task. Let us be seen to be exhibiting the right attitude.”
Mr Aidoo stressed that political expediency would not help the country and bemoaned the situation where political party agents wanted to take over the duties of electoral officers at the polling stations during the December elections.
He also expressed concern about political party agents who were trained by the EC but did not turn up at the polling stations during the polling day, saying "We build the capacity of political party agents and they throw it away.”
"We must begin to search for knowledge for our electoral system to become a standard and example for others to come and learn", he told the political parties.
"We are in a global world that we must use knowledge-based approach in learning our electoral system,” he added.
A Member of the Electoral Commission responsible for the Western Region, Madam Eunice Akweley Roberts, pointed out that rumour-mongering during the December elections was the cause of the major problems the commission encountered.
She also explained that it was the commission which created the position for political party agents, to build more confidence in the electoral system, adding, “It is not found in the electoral laws or the constitution.”
"We created the party agents for a purpose, but not for them to take over from the officers at the polling stations,” she explained
Madam Roberts said the commission would not work again with those party agents who misconducted themselves at polling stations during the elections.
She advised the political parties to get copies of the electoral laws and reforms to educate their members as part of capacity building.
Responding to questions, she said the commission could not use electronic voting system, but would improve on voter registration and that in future the commission would make sure that registration took place long before election day.
She said the EC was in a process of reducing numbers of voters by creating more poling stations.
Madam Roberts urged the political parties not to see the regional and district officers of the commission as enemies, since they were working to ensure free, fair and transparent elections.
"They are not here to put impediments or obstacles in anybody’s way, but they are here to conduct a successful elections,” she added.
The Western Regional Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr K.K. Sam, suggested that the commission should give its calendar on elections to the political parties ahead of time to enable the parties to prepare well and attend the commission’s programmes slated for the parties.
The Western Regional Organiser of the NPP, Mr Kojo Acquah, suggested that the EC should consult its stakeholders before choosing dates for its programmes.