Chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC) Jean Mensa has fought off criticisms that greeted the commission’s decision to declare election results within 24 hours.
Addressing the press, Jean Mensa has defended her outfit’s commitment to declare the results of the 2020 elections in 24 hours.
According to her, this will help defuse tension in the country. Some social commentators and political parties especially the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) had earlier cast doubt on the EC’s announcement.
The Director of Elections for the NDC Elvis Afriyie Ankrah insisted that it is unrealistic for the EC to declare the results of the 2020 elections 24 hours after the close of polls on December 7. “They are creating unrealistic expectations and then when the day comes and by that time they are not able to announce the results, what will they do?” he asked at a press conference on November 25.
But Jean Mensa said, “Why wait on the results when you have it?” “We all know that our media houses have been able to present the results in some 10 hours after the poll closes. So if you’ve put in place systems to ensure that you’ll receive the results on time, why the panic?” she quizzed on Monday.
Speaking at a news conference in Accra to brief the nation of its preparedness ahead of the special voting, Jean Mensa said they have trained their officials to deliver on that timeline:
“If the EC says it will declare the elections after one week, then we should be panicking. But if you’re bringing in efficiency and allaying the fears and suspicions of persons, I think that we should be commended and encouraged. Our processes still remain virtually manual and the EC is not engaging in some complex electronic transmission of results to enable us to achieve that,” she said
