Peter Mac Manu, former National Chairman of NPP
To prevent the chaos usually witnessed at constituency collation centres, the Electoral Commission should consider making some modifications to the structure, Peter Mac Manu, the campaign manager for candidate Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
Speaking to CitiFM on lessons from the 2020 elections and how the electoral process can be improved, Mac Manu said that a major cause of the chaos at collation centres is the massing up of presiding officers.
He observed that the situation creates an uncomfortable environment which escalates upon the slightest trigger.
The former NPP chairman also appealed to media men to be circumspect with their reportage on electoral matters.
“You set up a collation centre like Techiman South with 265 or so polling stations. It means you expect 265 presiding officers, so the whole place becomes congested and chaotic. More so, because people are eager for results, they come and line up, and this creates uneasiness for people to do the arithmetic.”
“You need a serene atmosphere to do the arithmetic but with this noise and congestion, it becomes chaotic and ultimately false news and propaganda go about that they are stealing and the media start pronouncing that on the airwaves. This creates instability.”
Mac Manu was speaking on the sidelines of a post-election workshop organized by the CODEO.
At the same programme, the former head of the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS), has said Ghana’s image has been dented with the deaths that were recorded during the December 7, 2020, general elections.
“I hear that, indeed, in some of our neighbouring countries, we did witness a crisis prior to the election, during the election and post-election including, for instance, Guinea and other neighbouring countries like Côte d’Ivoire where we had a large number of election violence.
“In the category of Justice and Rule of Law, our standing has declined given the parameters that the Mo Ibrahim Foundation uses to rate African countries. We need to be conscious of that and interrogate what is causing the decline because we should be a leader in that category. We also see a decline in security,.” Mr Ibn Chambas noted.