- IDEG wants EC to post polling station results online.
- This is to prevent electoral disputes and ensure transparency.
- Ghana's democracy is ranked 6th in Africa, but needs improvement.
- EC is reforming, but parties must accept election results.
The Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG) is urging the Electoral Commission (EC) to publish polling station results on its website before declaring final results in the 2024 elections. This recommendation aims to prevent electoral disputes and ensure transparency in the electoral process.
Ghana’s presidential polls have faced electoral petitions at the Supreme Court in recent years due to allegations of faulty processes at polling stations. The EC has also faced criticism for declaring the 2020 election results twice due to result tallying anomalies.
IDEG believes that publishing polling station results online will prevent such occurrences and strengthen Ghana’s democracy. Senior Research Fellow at IDEG, Kwesi Jonah, emphasized the importance of adopting these measures to improve Ghana’s democratic position.
Jonah acknowledged Ghana’s democracy as the sixth most stable in Africa but noted that weaknesses in the electoral process need to be addressed. He cited the European Union’s recommendations for Ghana to publish polling station results officially on the EC’s website to fast-track democracy.
Jonah stressed that this approach prevents political parties from claiming they lack results or that the election has been rigged. The Electoral Commission is initiating reforms to address these concerns, but Director of Training Dr Serebour Quaicoe emphasized that political parties must also accept the outcome of results.
