The live broadcast of the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meeting with the Electoral Commission (EC) on Tuesday, October 1, has sparked a heated debate about the future of transparency in the electoral process.

Dr Kojo Pumpuni Asante, Director of Advocacy and Policy Engagement at the Center for Democratic Development (CDD), has raised concerns that turning every IPAC meeting into a media event could hinder meaningful dialogue.

Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express on Tuesday, he explained that while transparency is essential, constant media presence could change the dynamics of discussions, leading to more political grandstanding rather than productive dialogue.

“Too Much Performance, Too Little Substance”

“It should be specialised,” Dr Asante argued, referring to the deliberations that take place within IPAC.

“Sometimes IPAC actually needs that quietness because these are politicians. You get the grandstanding and all of that, where sometimes people just need to work. They need to just deliberate and work among themselves.”

Dr Asante pointed out that live broadcasts can shift the focus of the meetings from substance to performance.

“If you open it up all the time, you’re just going to get a lot of performance, and you won’t get substance from IPAC meetings,” he warned.

While acknowledging the importance of transparency, he suggested that the media’s presence should be reserved for particularly critical discussions.

“Yes, today’s platform was very important, so opening it up was fine. But don’t make it a routine,” Dr Asante stressed.

“It should just be determined based on the significance of the issues being discussed.”

Differing Views from Political Parties

While Dr. Asante called for balance, political party representatives had contrasting perspectives on the matter.

Evans Nimako, Director of Elections and Research for the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), supported the idea of more frequent live broadcasts.

He argued that the media’s presence would eliminate any misunderstandings between political parties and the EC.

“Yes, I think it will be of great help,” Mr Nimako said.

“It opens up the discussion, and it’s brought to life by the media. Because sometimes when we leave IPAC, it appears there are different ideas, and this doesn’t help our discourse.

“ So to have the media presence in these meetings to let the world know exactly what was discussed, I don’t think anyone should have an issue with that.”

On the other hand, the Deputy Director of Elections and IT for the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Dr Rashid Tanko (popularly known as Dr. Computer), went even further, advocating for live broadcasts of all electoral processes.

“For transparency’s sake, from now up to election day, we should have live broadcasts of everything the Electoral Commission is doing,” Dr Computer stated.

“We should have live coverage of not just IPAC meetings but everything related to the elections.”

The Importance of Transparency

Dr Computer emphasized that live broadcasts could rebuild public trust in the Electoral Commission, especially after past controversies regarding the voters register.

He argued that without media coverage, misinformation and scepticism could spread.

“If they hadn’t accepted live coverage today, you and I wouldn’t know how things played out,” he said.

“The whole country was glued to their TVs, watching, just to be sure that, yes, the issue was discussed, errors were admitted, and corrections were made. It brings back that kind of integrity they’ve lost along the line.”

He further stated that the NDC’s call for transparency was not antagonistic but rather a way to ensure a fair electoral process.

“We are major stakeholders. Whatever we say is to assist them. We are trying to engender the transparency, free and fair elections that we are all looking for,” Dr Computer concluded.