A Senior Political Science lecturer at the University of Ghana has criticised the Electoral Commission's (EC) handling of meetings with stakeholders in the electoral process.

Professor Ransford Gyampo said the Commission has adopted a lackadaisical approach in building consensus among its stakeholders.

“It is a lazy approach to resort to the lines of resistance by quickly touting one’s mandate and becoming intransigent, in the face of opposition and polarisation. It’s been like that since 1992,” he said on the Super Morning Show, Thursday.

He explained that over the years the Electoral Commission has not engaged fully with its stakeholders to be the institution it was indeed mandated to be.

“RIPAL was a law passed in 2006. Afari-Gyan could not implement it, Charlotte Osei couldn’t implement it and I’m not sure that Jean Mensa will be able to implement it. The reason partly is as a result of the fact that there seems to be no consensus from the key stakeholders and its implementation,” he said

“So the lack of consensus over the years in my view has shown that EC itself has not worked so hard to carry all its stakeholders on board in the execution of its mandate.”

“In as much as I believe that the mandate of institutions must be respected, the application and insistence on the mandate to carry out a piece of work must however be done with some trepidation and responsible discretion particularly in the face of polarisation. In order not to usher institutions into a regime of robots.”

“Although Professor Gyampo acknowledges the fact the EC has not properly engaged with its stakeholders to provide a full service, ‘we should not allow it to fester or go on’. 

I would advise all that this is not the time to rigidly insist on a mandate and also to the political parties that this is not the time to rigidly be intransigent.”