LET'S TRUST EC (OCTOBER 28, 2008)

WITH 40 days to go for the December polls, the Electoral Commission (EC) has declared its readiness to conduct free and fair elections, after taking delivery of essential materials for the elections.
The commission, according to media reports, has taken delivery of indelible ink, endorsing ink, validation stamps, stamp pads, thumbprint pads, ballot boxes and materials for the printing of ballot papers.
The Fourth Republic has already witnessed four elections and the EC has played a key role in making those elections successful.
The commission has demonstrated that it has the character and professionalism to appropriately deal with the competing demands from the various political parties.
Even on occasions when it has been unfairly condemned and criticised, it has refused to crumble under pressure.
As the nation draws closer to the December polls, political campaigns are getting heated up and politicians are making last minute efforts to woo voters and improve their chances of winning the elections.
In the heat of these campaigns, some politicians make utterances that tend to question the integrity and fairness of the EC, even when such accusations are baseless and cannot be substantiated. It is becoming quite evident that the EC is sometimes unfairly drawn into the politics of the day.
While the DAILY GRAPHIC does not intend to hold brief for the EC in any matter, it is the belief of the paper that the commission has demonstrated that it is capable of staying above partisanship and conducting its business in an objective and credible manner.
Thus any attempt to characterise the EC as a politically bias entity could serve as a potent distraction to the conduct of free and fair elections.
That is why the DAILY GRAPHIC calls on politicians to guard their utterances and ensure that they avoid casting the EC in a bad light and, thereby, erode the confidence of the electorate in it.
As has been duly acknowledged by all the political parties, the conduct of free and fair elections is not the responsibility of only the commission but also all Ghanaians, including political parties, the judiciary, the media, the security agencies and the electorate.
At the recent meeting between the Council of State and representatives of political parties, the issue of the unfair criticism and condemnation of the EC came up and some party representatives cautioned against the tendency of some of their colleagues to deride the commission.
We are happy that some political parties and politicians have recognised the potential harm such unhealthy characterisation of the EC can do to it and ultimately to our young democracy.
It is, therefore, the hope of the DAILY GRAPHIC that this recognition will find greater practical expression and save the EC from any further unfair bashing.
We also wish to encourage the EC to continuously live above reproach and maintain or even improve the high standards set over the years.
The confidence of the people can only be sustained if the EC refuses to bow to any pressure from any quarter and rather rededicates itself to the ideals required for free and fair elections.