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06.01.2016 Feature Article

Reforming The Electoral Commission- Dr. Nii Amu Darko

Dr. Nii Amu Darko, Founder of African Reform MovementDr. Nii Amu Darko, Founder of African Reform Movement
06.01.2016 LISTEN

Anytime an Electoral Commissioner is chosen there is noise. Anytime there is an election there is noise. This means only one thing; both processes are not water tight. This article is an attempt to fix both. I do not understand why our constitution tries so hard to make every institution of State an extension of the Presidency and to give the impression that the President is equal to the State.

Some are refusing to acknowledge that our fundamental problem is constitutional. Doing so will make the NPP worse in terms of constitutional development in the 4th republic. As I wrote under ‘’Integrity beyond a flawed constitution’’, Kuffour abused the flaws in the constitution allegedly made for Rawlings far more the coupist.

Before 2000, NPP made a lot of noise and still do about the constitution being tailor-made for Rawlings, yet in power they did not do anything about it. The chief legal advisor, Nana did not advise Kuffour the President about the flaws, rather they exploited one of the flaws and packed the Supreme Court to get a desired outcome. NPP is not serious at all.

I did not condemn President Mahama for appointing Charlotte Osei as EC Boss. I condemned the constitution which gave him the power to appoint. I posted what an ARM government will do to restore credibility to the EC. Yesterday, I was interviewed by a radio station and the host asked me what I will do differently. Reforming the EC is one of the things I will do differently. Read on.

I will discuss this topic under 2 related headings:

  1. The Structure and Composition of the Electoral Commission
  2. The challenges of the Electoral Process

THE STRUCTURE and COMPOSITION OF THE EC
The drafters of the Constitution did not appreciate the basic principle that the independence of a body is determined largely by how it is formed. It is unlikely for a body to be independent from its appointing authority. The President appointing the whole EC to organize elections in which he is a participant is an example of constitutional failure. I propose 6 members of the EC to be made from statutory bodies and they appoint the 7th member.

STRUCTURE - I propose a 2 tier system – a Governing Board and a Permanent Secretariat.

  1. The Governing Board like a corporate board will have a Chairperson. The GB will make all decisions on the electoral process and will ratify any election results before they are passed and gazetted.
  2. The Permanent Secretariat will be an equivalent of a ministry. But unlike a ministry, it will be headed by a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) who will represent the Secretariat on the Governing Board. The Secretariat is accountable to the Board and not a Minister. The legal effect of this arrangement is that the EC is changed from a State to a Public Institution.

COMPOSITION -the Governing Board will be made up of 7 members drawn from:

  • A rep from ruling party
  • A rep from largest opposition
  • A rep from Statistical Service
  • A rep from the Judiciary
  • A rep from the Police Force
  • A rep from organized Labour
  • CEO of the Secretariat

Functions of the Board

  1. The Board shall be established by an Act of Parliament.
  2. The Board on its first day of sitting shall elect a Chairperson from its membership who shall be called the Electoral Commissioner.
  3. The tenure of an Electoral Commissioner shall not be more than one electoral cycle.
  4. Shall advertise, interview and appoint the CEO to head the Management committee (MC) of the Secretariat who may double as Secretary of the Board
  5. Shall appoint other members of the MC to assist the CEO in managing the Secretariat.
  6. Shall be guided by Public Service regulations to determine the conditions of service for members of the MC.
  7. Shall formulate, monitor and evaluate of policies regarding the electoral process.
  8. Shall have oversight responsibility of all actions of the Secretariat.
  9. Shall perform any other duties conferred on it by the Constitution
  10. Shall perform any other duties conferred on it by Acts of Parliament

CHALLENGES OF THE ELECTORAL PROCESS

  1. The above structure aims at improving the efficiency of the Commission and the level of transparency, independence and trust in the electoral process.
  2. In my opinion, election results are disputed because both major parties cheat. The logic of the loser is that the winner is the bigger thief hence the reluctance to accept results.
  3. The problems persist because of lack of trust in the EC and the determination of the two parties to win power at all cost
  4. The reason for the life or death approach to the electoral process is the unitary system and the winner takes all structure.
  5. The solution therefore is 2 fold:
  • Deal with structural and functional deficiencies of the EC which we have done.
  • Deal with the Unitary State and the WTA which we have also done.

At ARM, we have solutions for the fundamental challenges facing our democracy.

Tswa omanye aba!
Dr. Nii Amu Darko
[email protected]

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