Politics

Rawlings: Establishment of Eminent Advisory C’ttee wise decision by EC

Former President Jerry Rawlings has described the establishment of an Eminent Advisory Committee by the Electoral Commission (EC) as a wise decision and hopeful it will help to remove the suspicions the citizenry have about the Commission.

Describing members of the committee as people the citizenry must take pride in, he said the last Commission suffered suspicions because it was appointed by the government in power and was convinced the formation of the committee would help to remove doubts from the minds of citizenry about the independence of the Commission.

The 22-member committee is chaired by Justice Emile Short, a former Commissioner of the Commission of Human Rights and Administrative Justice and will be assisted by Gifty Afenyi Dadzie, a former President of the Ghana Journalists Association.

Speaking at the launch of the committee in Accra, former President Rawlings commended Most Reverend Emmanuel Asante, the Chairman of the Peace Council and member of the committee for helping to ease tensions when presidential election results delayed in 2016 but intervention helped to calm nerves.

He reiterated that because people perceive the Commission as appendages of the government the establishment of the committee would help open the commission to the populace and urged members of the committee to speak out on issues of national importance so that their voices would be recognised and appreciated when they speak out during election period.

Outdooring the committee, Jean Mensa, the Chairperson of the EC, said the major rationale for its establishment was to demystify the Commission and prove its independence, serve as a window between the Commission and the public, serve to inform the public on workings of the Commission and also serve to pass on concerns from the public to commission. -myjoyonline.com

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