NDC’s electoral reforms

It is good tidings that the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) is discussing electoral reforms in the country.

We are elated that the party is gradually picking up the pieces and learning from the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) which is unsurpassed in terms of reforms it has proposed and which have earned the country her unenviable democratic pedigree.

It is always better to engage in discussions and coming up with recommendations as opposed to deploying thugs to embark on destruction sprees and other acts of incivility.

We are constrained to doubt whether the NDC would continue on this tangent. Should we be proved wrong however, that should be a welcome development for the country.

While we congratulate the party for ostensibly joining the club of decency we wish to however kick against the unproductiveness of their description of the last elections as flawed.

Let them come to terms with the reality and let us move on. The insensible denial they continue to exhibit does not help their cause.

They might have disagreements with isolated issues as it is with every elections; these do not however impact negatively on the integrity of the polls.

At a time the National Democratic Congress (NDC) benefitted immensely from the use of opaque ballot boxes which enabled them to engage in electoral thievery and stay in power for as long as the then arrangements held sway they never thought about reforms and have never thought of any until now.

We are compelled to agree with those who claim that the NDC profits electorally only when the electoral machinery is flawed as it was in previous times.

Let them continue with their engagement over reforms because positive changes are part of growth.

The reforms they are going to present to Ghanaians and for that matter the Electoral Commission (EC) must pass integrity test.

Reforms which do not pass best practices would certainly be rejected. While we do not have anything against the current electoral arrangements we cannot claim that other suggestions do not exist which can move us to the next level of electoral enhancement.

We would advise that they take another look at the membership of the CSOs they are engaging with. The CSOs which stood vehemently against a new voters register do not represent the description of apolitical entities.

The Jean Mensa-led EC has dozen suggestions which would go a long way to enhance our electoral practices. It was one of such suggestions which led to the rolling out of a new voters register which the NDC kicked against as an impossible feat. They claimed the elections were too close and so the status quo be maintained.

It took the steadfastness of the lady at the helm of the Commission to give the country a clean voters register.

The biggest electoral reform in recent times is the unfurling of a new voters register without Togolese, Nigerians and other ECOWAS entries.

---Daily Guide