Senior Lecturer of the University of Ghana Law School, Dr Abdul Baasit Aziz Bamba says one way to fast-track the process in the event of an election petition is for the Electoral Commission to make the pink sheets and collation reports available on to the public on their website.

Speaking to Samson Anyenini on 'The Law' about fast-tracking election disputes, the Senior Lecturer indicated that although the EC does make these documents available to political parties, the courtesy should be extended to all Ghanaians, as the ordinary citizen can take up the suit in the case of an election petition.

"It's not only the candidates of an election who may file an election petition, but citizens could also do that. It is necessary that the EC finds a way of making the pink sheets and collation reports generally available and accessible to the public".

He added that the need to make this information readily available has become more evident with the passing of the Right to Information Act.

"The need to make this information available to citizens has become clearer by reason of the Right to Information Act. Now a citizen of Ghana has the right to participate in the governance of the country, which includes knowing how the EC conducts its processes, conducts elections and what have you."

And for the ordinary citizen to have that input into governance, "that citizen needs information and the way to have that information is for the EC to provide it."

His comment follows a concern raised by a caller on accessibility to the pink sheets and collation results, which may form part of evidence needed in the event of an election petition.

Dr. Bamba said if the EC failed to provide this information to the general public, "any citizen can do a Right to Information action to compel the EC to do that."

That being said, host Samson Anyenini pointed out the fact that a Right to Information action takes a minimum of 14 days within which the information requested is supplied. Meanwhile, petitioners of the election results are limited to 21 days after results have been announced within which they can file their election petition.

In response to that, Dr Bamba Baasit stated that "the path of least resistance is to require the EC to do that, just like the Public Elections Regulations requires the EC to publish the Provisional Register on its website, something similar could be done" to compel the EC by law to make the election reports public.