Student elections lack credibility - Former GAPS secretary

A former Secretary of the Ghana Association of Professional Studies (GAPS), Kwame Twumasi, has raised serious credibility issues with elections in tertiary institutions.

The immediate past secretary of GAPS and an alumnus of University of Professional Studies Accra (UPSA) said there has never been a credible election on any tertiary campus in Ghana.

Mr Twumasi, popularly called “Chipsa”, was speaking on the students oriented show CampusOnHitz, aired on Hitz FM on Sundays.

He was speaking in response to the brouhaha that has plagued the just ended elections at the University of Professional Studies Accra campus.

According to him, student elections are won by the candidate with the highest bid.

He also indicates that the Electoral Commission at UPSA and those at most universities in Ghana are not fair in refereeing elections.

According to him, they always seem to have a bias.
The former GAPS secretary told CampusOnHitz host Gloria Nyarku that student elections have become increasingly dirty because it is highly monetized, with major national-level political parties influencing the process.

This situation, according to Mr Twumasi, easily compromises the Electoral Commission on various campuses.

Paa Kwasi Ansah, the Electoral Commissioner for the Banking and Finance department of the University of Professional Studies Accra, (UPSA) says the voting pattern of students is largely based on candidates’ political affiliations.

According to him, the recent elections at UPSA was "not free and fair".

The UPSA election conundrum
The General assembly of UPSA decided to review the constitution that saw seventeen persons contesting positions to six major categories in order to allow for enough time in collating the results.

As allegations of rigging and stern calls for a runoff between the two presidential candidates, Kwabena Koomson and Edmund Godsway, rage on the big question is-

Would the electoral commissioner rescind his declaration of Kwabena Koomson as the winner with a 28-vote difference? Can he do this after withdrawing his earlier declaration of a runoff between both candidates?