Franklin Cudjoe, President of IMANI Africa, has strongly criticized the Electoral Commission (EC) for attributing recent District Assembly election lapses to mere “technical challenges.” Cudjoe argued that the explanation is disingenuous and points to underlying issues with the Commission’s planning and transparency.
Expressing his concerns, Cudjoe highlighted contradictions between the EC’s assurances of preparedness weeks before the election and their claims of last-minute technical difficulties. He stated that issues such as misspelled names on the ballot might be considered technical, but the broader challenges, including the lack of necessary accoutrements, reflect a disregard for proper processes.
“This whole conversation about technical issues for the lapse the EC had cannot be true. You see if they are saying that maybe someone’s name was misspelled or something on the ballot, maybe yes. You can’t tell me that 12 hours or 6 hours to the elections, you didn’t know that you didn’t have all the accoutrement. These are not technical issues; they are just blatant disregard for the processes; it should have been ready two weeks earlier,” said Cudjoe.
Cudjoe also criticized the EC’s “headstrong” approach and emphasized the importance of collaboration with stakeholders. He believes that excluding voices from different parties contributes to avoidable problems, as evidenced by the recent elections. Cudjoe questioned the EC’s decision to close polls at 3 pm in the main 2024 polls, urging a more inclusive and well-considered approach to such decisions.
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