We Have Seen It And We Like It

We have observed the important inroads the Jean Mensa-led Electoral Commission (EC) is making in not only removing the veneer which concealed the malaise of the commission but also administering the appropriate medication.

Until the veneer was removed, we did not know that the commission did not even have standard departments required of institutions of the stature of our election managing body.

No wonder elections in the past suffered integrity challenges the causes of which were hardly noticed, let alone discussed because of the constitutionally guaranteed independence of the commission. It was as if crafters of the governance document wanted the commission to be run arbitrarily with no adherence to acceptable standards of corporate governance. The 'independence' therein was for a better purpose and not how others saw it and effectively abused it to the state of rottenness.

The recent call on one of the major stakeholders in the country's electoral process, President Akufo-Addo, by Mrs. Jean Mensa and her commissioners offered us further glimpse into the EC of yesterday and the efforts being made to bring it in line with acceptable corporate standards.

The engagement series with stakeholders which the new EC has rolled out has built steel bridges which would inure to the interest of the electoral process and, therefore, democracy in the country.

Stepping into the helm of an institution such as the EC which is bereft of most things from logistics to respectable image yet expected to discharge the rather challenging task of managing polls in a world powered by social media and unparalleled software is a Herculean assignment.

We have observed with growing interest the impact the calls are registering on the image of the commission.

We have always stood on the side of transparency in the work of this critical feature of democracy – management of elections.

Opaqueness which unfortunately beclouded the previous management of the EC mystifying it under the cloak of independence played against the integrity of the commission.

We prayed that with the ouster of the previous management, Ghana would be blessed with a successor who prefers opening the door of the equipment deficit EC so all Ghanaians would see what happens in the elections management edifice.

Now that the place is open for our view, we have seen it and refreshingly taken note of the tangible and intangible changes taking place therein.

It is our hope that the much-needed trust that needs to exist between the EC and its stakeholders – something which was non-existent in previous times – is beginning to blossom.

We pray that God Almighty shower abundant wisdom on the Mrs. Jean Mensa-led EC so that decisions taken thereof shall be to the benefit of our democracy.

The election petition hearings and the outcome which we witnessed should be the last in the history of our democracy.