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