A private legal practitioner, Martin Luther Kpebu, has said but for “some mistakes committed by the Electoral Commission (EC)”, the post election brouhaha wouldn’t have come.
Mr. Kpebu says even though no institution is impeccable, the EC could have avoided the problem it has brought upon itself.
He says people have attributed the challenges to the Commission’s promise to deliver the election results within 24 hours, which made them make hasty computation, resulting in the errors it provided on December 9.
He however noted, that the said conclusion defies logic since mistakes are inevitable, despite the fact that the EC could have prevented some frivolous ones it made.
“We all make mistakes. Doctors make mistakes and patients die. It happens in every profession. But people say because the EC said it was going to declare the results in 24 hours, it was in a haste to do things. People have connected the two saying because of the haste but in all honesty, it is illogical [because] mistakes just happen,” he told JoyNews’ Ayisha Ibrahim on PM Express Monday, December 14, 2020, keenly monitored by Ghanas Online.
After declaration of the 2020 election results, the opposition National Democratic Congress have rejected the outcome saying it is a “stolen verdict”.
The Commission, has since corrected some errors made by its Chairperson, Jean Mensa, on the day of declaration, including other corrections it has effected on its website subsequently.
Meanwhile, the Constitutional lawyer, has, however, indicated the enormity of the discrepancies would be based on how it alters the overall outcome of the elections or otherwise.
“It’s not about just the mistake. It is about the mistake that impact the overall results [and] not minor ones,” he added.
Mr. Kpebu also averred the evidence the NDC have at its disposal can overturn the results or otherwise since it currently haven’t provided any proof of rigging for public perusal.
The legal expert noted in addition, the tussle about the change in denominator affecting the election results or not. He said that would also be curbed when statisticians provide insight on the new figures and the changes effected on the outcome subsequently.
Also, he indicated the EC could have resorted to other means to curb some of the hikups rather than strictly applying the “hard law” at the polling stations to worsen issues.
He noted “you don’t throw the law on people’s face strictly all the time. Hard law, Soft law, Consensus and Consultation are all used to arrive at a solution. IPAC for instance is not constitutional but we all know how necessary and important it has become in our democracy. So we apply all these to resolve issues of this nature”
Mr. Kpebu also suspected the NDC might be engaging in the tussle with the EC for the court of public opinion.
He opined it is possible the opposition wants Ghanaians to give them the mandate come next election on the basis that, “after all, the previous election was stolen from them so let’s vote for them.”