The Electoral Commission, Ghana (EC) has reiterated its commitment to deliver “free, fair, transparent and credible” elections despite the rejection of its proposal to have this year’s elections on November 7. Parliament on Thursday, July 21 voted to maintain the holding of the country’s elections on December 7. The Commission had proposed a first Monday of November in every election year in the Constitutional Amendment Bill. But failure by Parliament to get 2/3 of members to vote in favour rejected the Bill. In a statement issued on Friday, July 22, the Commission expressed gratitude to the Speaker of Parliament, the Attorney General and all members for the previous day’s exercise on the floor of the House. “As an institution mandated to run elections in Ghana, we have been ready for the November 7 elections if the Amendment Bill had been approved by parliament,” the statement signed by Eric Kofi Dzakpasu, the Head of Communcations at the EC, said. “The change of election date to December will therefore not affect our commitment to deliver a free, fair, transparent and credible elections this year.” Mr Dzakpasu used the opportunity to urge Ghanaians to partake in the ongoing voter exhibition and verification exercise.
Source: 3news.com