EC must furnish names of presiding officers to presidential candidates – CPP

The General Secretary of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), Kwame Nkrumah Botsio, has called on the Electoral Commission (EC) to provide the published names and pictures of presiding officers to presidential candidates.

According to him, the Public Elections Regulations, 2020 (C.I. 127), specifically Section 6, Subsection B, mandate the EC to furnish a copy of these names to political parties and candidates contesting in elections.

Speaking on JoyNews’ on Saturday, Mr. Botsio stated that while the EC has provided these details to constituency branches, the regulation also stipulates that a registered political party or even an individual qualified to vote may raise objections to the presiding officers.

He explained that this list is not solely for the consumption of political parties at the constituency level but that parliamentary aspirants and presidential candidates are also supposed to have copies.

Thus, he urged the Commission to immediately provide the published names of the presiding officers to political parties and presidential candidates.

The CPP General Secretary further explained that political parties are not the only stakeholders in the electoral process.

“The primary stakeholders in this election are the 19 million voters—the ordinary citizens who have the right to know what is happening,” he stated.

Mr. Botsio stressed that public suspicions surrounding the EC are not exclusive to the Commission but extend to political parties as well.

He called on the EC to act as a neutral arbiter to maintain public trust, saying, “The problems come only when people have this perspective.”