“Persons who commit serious election offences, particularly if they are professional election officials or electronic experts, must be severely punished for attempting to undermine the will of the people. Possibly a treasonable act,” a former Chairman of the Electoral Commission (EC), Dr Kwadwo Afari Gyan, has said.
“And I am singling out professional election administrators and electronic experts, because they know what they are doing.”
A voter may commit some infraction. An election official, by their training, knows what is the right thing to do. The electronic expert who is tampering with the figures knows exactly what he is doing, and these people, I am suggesting, should be seriously punished,” Dr Afari Gyan added.
According to Dr Afari Gyan, punishing offenders severely will help serve as a deterrent to others who plan to engage in election malpractices.
Dr Kwadwo Afari Gyan, who was speaking at the Ghana Bar Association’s (GBA) annual conference in Kumasi on Tuesday, stressed that in a democratic election, the voter is preeminent and a valid vote is invaluable for purposes of determining the choices of the people.
For this reason, the seasoned election administrator said any act intended to manipulate or undermine the will of the people, particularly by those employed to oversee the exercise, should be considered an act of “treason”.
“I am singling out professional election administrators and electronic experts because they know exactly what they are doing. A voter may commit some infraction,” he said.
He also advised political parties and various contenders in general elections to obtain the requisite data before going to court to challenge the election results.
