The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) says it opposes the Electoral Commission’s (EC) proposal to hold the 2024 general election in November instead of December.
Mr Fiifi Fiavi Kwetey, the General Secretary of the NDC, in a statement copied to the Ghana News Agency, said: “The NDC states without equivocation that the EC’s quest to hold the general election in November, 2024, will not be supported by the NDC”.
It said the announcement by Dr Bossman Asare, the Deputy Chairman in-charge of Corporate Services of the EC, did not reflect the irrefutable arguments that led to the concensus that any major electoral reforms should become effective from November 2028.
It noted that whereas there was a clear consensus on 2028 as the year of effectiveness, it was untrue that the majority of political parties at IPAC agreed to the November 2024 date.
“It is, therefore, strange but not unexpected that the Deputy Chair of the EC misled the public that almost about 60 per cent of political parties supported the proposal for elections to be held in November, 2024 at the IPAC meeting held on Monday, January 29, 2024.”
The statement said IPAC needed to return to its time-honoured tradition of building consensus on crucial electoral reforms.
“Be that as it might, it was important to clarify that out of the 10 political parties at the IPAC meeting, at least five spoke eloquently against changing the date for elections to November 2024,” it said.
“We urge the Electoral Commission to concentrate on germane and urgent matters, including immediately releasing the calendar for the 2024 elections as we strive for transparent, free, and fair elections in December, 2024.”
GNA
ABD
31 Jan 2024
