Ghana’s Electoral Commission, (EC), is to deploy a state of the art ICT equipment for the 2020 general elections.
The Commission believes the equipment used for the 2016 elections are obsolete and new technologies are needed.
Chairperson of the EC, Mrs. Jean Mensa announced this when the Seven Member Commissioners on Thursday, September 12, 2019, paid a courtesy call on President Akufo-Addo at the Jubilee House, in Accra.
Mrs. Mensa also disclosed that a draft report on the implementation of Representation of People’s Amendment Law, (ROPAL), is ready and the Commission will seek the amendment of CI 91 and 94.
The Visit to the Presidency forms part of wider stakeholder consultation by the EC to get all on board the work of the Commission.
The EC has already met with former Presidents’, Jerry John Rawlings, John Agyekum Kufuor and John Dramani Mahama.
They have also met with the Peace Council, Members of the Council of State, political parties, Ghana Journalists Association, (GJA), and various media houses.
The meeting with President Akufo-Addo concluded the EC stakeholder consultations.
Mrs. Jean Mensa, who led the seven member delegation to the Jubilee House reaffirmed the EC’s commitment to ensuring transparent, credible and peaceful elections.
Mrs. Mensa noted that the EC has learnt lessons from the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election and measures have been put in place to prevent such occurrences.
Mrs. Mensah was happy that the EC has been able to wean itself off foreign control of its ICT centre.
She said this has saved the EC a lot of money, because it was was paying the foreign firm four million dollars every month for maintenance.
Mrs. Mensa said the Commission has overhauled its ICT centre and will deploy state of the art ICT equipment for the 2020 election.
President Akufo-Addo was satisfied with the work of the Commission and said government will continue to give it the needed support.
The EC later met the former Head of Nigeria’s Elections Commission, Professor Jega who is visiting Ghana.
Story filed by Bright Ntramah.
