Lawyer Bobby Banson is not convinced all is well between the Electoral Commission, Ghana (EC) and political parties.
He stressed that the holding of a press conference by the Commission on Monday, September 18 smacks of a lack of trust.
“Coming to hold press conference to address issues or concerns raised by political parties and then you come and respond to it at a different fora, I think that it connotes a lack of trust or break of communication, more for me a lack of trust between the EC and the political parties,” he stated on TV3‘s Ghana Tonight on Tuesday, September 19.
For him, the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC), though without any legal backing, was set up to address concerns of political parties.
“IPAC is supposed to be a solemn institution for want of a better word even though it has no legal basis but the whole idea is that it is supposed to make it very solemn in the sense that it is a channel of communication between the Electoral Commission and the political parties.”
Some political parties initially resisted the decision of the Commission to conduct the limited voter registration exercise at its district offices.
The parties, as well as civil society organisations, wanted the EC to conduct the registration exercise at electoral areas.
Some of the parties accused the EC, particularly its Chair, Jean Adukwei Mensa, of suppressing first-time voters.
But Mrs Mensa pointed out on Monday that there was no premeditated plan on the part of the EC or any agent or assign to disenfranchise any Ghanaian.
“It is not in our interest to disenfranchise anybody.”