The National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) has called on political parties and stakeholders to intensify engagements with the Electoral Commission (EC) and desist from any intimidation and inducement that will obstruct the commission’s work.
In a similar vein, the group further urged the EC to also engage all opposing parties and stakeholders in a manner that showed respect and appreciation of their views as was the case in a democratic jurisdiction.
Speaking at a meeting with journalists in Accra yesterday, President of NUGS, Isaac Jay Hyde, advised that the bodies continue to use the Inter Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meetings to deliberate on electoral matters and resolve their differences.
“We call on political parties and stakeholders to continue to use the Inter Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meetings to engage the EC on their concerns. NUGS is much concerned about the Ghanaian student having a sound and safe environment which fosters academic excellence.
Consequently, we strongly call on stakeholders to respect the independence and desist from acts of intimidation, coercion and inducement directed at obstructing the EC from its constitutional mandate of conducting a credible, free and fair election or stampeding it to take any decision that will mar the beauty of election 2020. We demand nothing short of a free, fair transparent election from the EC,” he stated.
Mr Hyde further requested for an end to the ongoing heated debates on the EC’s decision to compile a new voters’ register while egos were put aside to allow the EC to execute its mandate judiciously.
“We think the raging debates has led to a total poisoning of the political atmosphere in the country which is uncalled for, unpatriotic and unwarranted,” he added.
Mr Hyde appreciated the independent functions of the EC without undermining the inputs of the various election stakeholders as in Article 45 (a) (e) of the constitution.
To ensure increased voter turnout in the December polls, he appealed to the EC to allow students across the tertiary institutions exercise their franchise by conducting the elections on campus.
He called on the EC to be transparent in its dealings with all political parties and stakeholders, and to work assiduously to allay their fears in order to command strong confidence and trust in the electoral process.
BY YUNUSAH ESSANDOH
