Former Deputy Chairman for the Electoral Commission (EC), David Kangah has affirmed his confidence in the ability of the EC to oversee fair elections. However, he placed the onus of ensuring electoral fairness and peace on the Ghanaian people. Speaking on Joy FM's Super Morning Show on Wednesday, Mr. Kanga encouraged Ghanaians to work diligently to prevent voter fraud. The People’s Role Though Mr. Kangah acknowledged that some actors will inevitably try to cheat, he expressed faith in the people’s power to combat fraud. He cited one incident from a previous election in which some people tried to steal a ballot box but were chased away by voters. He commented that the security forces alone would not have been able to prevent fraud; the involvement of passionate citizens is always essential. He explained that relying on the people is the nation’s best option because the EC lacks the resources to employ 115,000 election workers and must pad its staff with volunteers. Similarly, the immediate past Deputy Chairman of the EC said, even if the electoral security forces were under the supervision of the EC, the EC would not have the resources to enforce its authority among them. Therefore, while managing elections is a civil exercise and communal activity, security is best left to the government, he emphasised. To shift fraud prevention responsibilities further away from the EC, Mr. Kangah explained that the organization cannot simply toss out a set of ballots over allegations of fraud or intimidation. If such a policy were adopted, EC members loyal to one party could respond to fraud allegations selectively and target areas known to support the other party. Given that the commission cannot annul results until sufficient evidence justifies such a move, the burden to produce this evidence falls once again on the people, Mr. Kanga said. Along these lines, Kangah advised that it is easier to stop fraud before it occurs than to address it retroactively, so people should be vigilant on election day.