Electoral Commission: Pillar of Ghana’s Successful Democracy

National sovereignty in all countries is supposed to belong to the people who exercise it through their representatives. The people choose their representatives through elections which should be credible, free, genuine and democratic.

By Tazoacha Asonganyi
Ghana has been hailed for the manner in which the sovereignty of the Ghanaian people was exercised in choosing not only members of parliament but also the present president of Ghana. Indeed, in spite of several recent failures in other countries, Ghana succeeded with brio in December 2008 to carry out what has been described as free, fair and transparent elections in which the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) lost control of both parliament and the presidency to the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC). The elections were managed from the registration of voters through supervision of the polls to the proclamation of results by the Ghanaian Electoral Commission.

Following the appointment of members of Elections Cameroon (ELECAM) that has caused much ink and saliva to flow in Cameroon, it is appropriate to compare and contrast it with the Ghanaian Commission that is the pillar of the successful democracy being hailed in Ghana today.

The Ghanaian Electoral Commission is the institution in the Constitution that ensures the people’s right to vote. The composition, qualification, terms and conditions of service of its members, as well as its functions and its independence are all well defined in the 1992 Constitution of Ghana. It has 7 members including a Chairman, 2 deputy Chairmen, and four other members. This is not the case in Cameroon where ELECAM is not one of the institutions in the Cameroon Constitution of 1996.

A person is qualified to be appointed a member of the commission if he or she is qualified to be elected as a member of parliament (is a citizen of Ghana, is aged at least 21 years, is registered as a voter, has paid all taxes). The Chairman has the same terms and conditions of service as an Appeal Court Judge (serves until retirement at 70, salary and allowances, immunity…) while his two deputies have the same terms and conditions of service of a High Court Judge (retirement at 65, salary and allowances, immunity…); the other four members earn allowances as Parliament may determine; they serve until they retire at the civil service retirement age!

They are all appointed by the President of Ghana after consultation with the Council of State and approval by Parliament. All this can be compared to what obtains in ELECAM: it is an outfit created at the whim of the President; and members have a term of 4 years renewable at the pleasure of the President! As for the Director General of ELECAM who in fact is in charge of performing all the duties devolved to ELECAM, he is appointed by the president alone, and serves at his pleasure! Remunerations and allowances of members of ELECAM are determined by… decree of the President!

The Ghanaian Electoral Commission has the following functions: compile the register of voters and revise it at such periods as may be determined by law; demarcate the electoral boundaries for both national and local elections; conduct and supervise all public elections and referenda; educate the people on the electoral process and its purpose; perform such other functions as may be prescribed by law. Such other functions now include the registration of political parties, the reception of the declaration of assets of political parties and their officials, the reception of the annual statements of the audited accounts of political parties, as well as applying to the High Court for the dissolution of any recalcitrant political party…

The Constitution of Ghana also states that "except as provided in this Constitution or in any other law not inconsistent with this Constitution, in the performance of its functions, the Electoral Commission shall not be subject to the direction or control of any person or authority... " In Cameroon, members of ELECAM "shall under no circumstances give or receive instructions or orders from public or private authority during the performance of their duties"! If ELECAM cannot give instructions, it is not supreme in the organisation and management of elections! Further, unlike in Ghana where the Electoral Commission is really independent, in Cameroon "the Minister in charge of Territorial Administration and Decentralisation shall ensure permanent liaison between government and ELECAM; in this respect, the latter shall submit copies of minutes and progress reports to him..."!

Following Parliamentary and Presidential elections, votes at each polling station are counted by agents of the Ghana Election Commission in the presence of representatives of candidates and the general public. It is the returning officer appointed by the Commission in each single-candidate constituency that gives the total number of votes cast for each candidate in the constituency and publicly declares elected to Parliament, the candidate who scores the highest votes.

As for the Presidential election, it is the Ghana Electoral Commission that declares the candidate who wins using "an instrument which is executed under the hand of the Chairman of the Commission, and states that the person named in the instrument is declared elected as president of Ghana at the election of the President". In Cameroon, ELECAM is only allowed to "publish presidential election, legislative, and senate election trends"; it forwards "election reports to the Constitutional Council or bodies provided for by law"!

In Ghana, the Electoral Commission is constitutionally bound to do its work properly and free from interference; in Cameroon, all is put in place for ELECAM to "fail" if trends are not favourable to the prince: "where ELECAM is duly established to be incompetent by the Constitutional Council, the President of the Republic shall under section 5 of the Constitution, take the requisite corrective measure...". As for the reason and timing of such a grave decision, only the President of the Republic (a probable candidate himself) knows!

Overall, the Ghanaian Electoral Commission and ELECAM are like night and day. ELECAM is so gagged that it is really doubtful that it can conduct and supervise free and fair elections, like the Ghanaian Commission. It seems that like NEO before it, ELECAM has been programmed to fail!