Let’s give EC benefit of doubt on 24-hour results promise – CDD-Ghana

The co-founder of the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), Baffour Agyemang Duah has urged Ghanaians to give the Electoral Commission the chance to prove itself with regard to its promise to declare results of the country’s December 7 presidential election within 24-hours.

According to him, the achievement of such a feat will be good for the country.

“Frankly, if they are able to fulfil that, it will be fantastic for all of us because in the last election, when results were held up for prolonged periods, anxieties went up and all kinds of circulations begun to fly around so if it is possible for the EC to do that then I think the better for all of us.”

Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Jean Mensa at an interaction with the Council of State on Friday, November 20, 2020, said the Commission had introduced some measures which will facilitate the declaration of election results within 24 hours.

“We are promoting some efficiency into the system. We have worked with our numbers, and we have a duration within which the results should be transmitted. We are expecting that by the next day, we should be able to declare the results. We do not intend to go beyond 24 hours. And we are confident that God being our helper, because of the efficiency we have introduced into the processes, we should be able to declare results within 24 hours.”

Some Ghanaians and bodies including the opposition National Democratic Congress are however sceptical about the promise.

But speaking during an interview on Eyewitness News, Mr. Agyemang Duah stated that “I think it is important for anyone who disagrees with that announcement to first find out what the EC has in place. If the EC is saying that they are going to do that then my expectation is that they may have put in place all the necessary mechanisms to ensure that results are transmitted timely”.

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He added that what Ghanaians actually need to do is to find out what systems the EC has put in place to back its promise and raise concerns if those systems don’t seem credible.

Mr. Duah also said: “so many of us have doubted the capacity of this current EC in so many ways from the registration to now, but they proved us wrong. I think if they have put in place systems to make this possible that will be historic and good for all of us. If they say they can do it let’s give them a chance.”