Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu is asking parliament to summon officials of the Electoral Commission (EC) to brief MPs on the Commission’s readiness towards the election 2020 and parliamentary elections.
Contributing on the floor of Parliament on Thursday, Haruna Iddrisu said the EC should let Ghanaians understand of its preparedness for the elections in spite of the outbreak of the fatal novel coronavirus in the nation.
“The Electoral Commission owes this country and members of parliament a duty; they will need to be summoned to come to provide us their roadmap regarding their readiness in view of COVID-19,” he said.
“They [EC] need to appraise this House of their level of preparedness for the 2020 presidential and parliamentary elections,” Mr Iddrisu stated.
The MP said in the event the EC officials are unable to brief the Committee of the whole, at least they should appear before the budget committee.
For the NDC lawmaker, Ghana’s democracy which has evolved over the years will survive the COVID-19 pandemic which has so far infected 2,074 people in the country with 212 recoveries and 17 deaths.
In a response, Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, said the EC will at appropriate time brief the house on its preparedness for the December 2020 general elections.
“I believe in the fullness of time, the EC will come to brief the House or at least the Budget Committee on where they are in respect of their own state of preparedness [for the elections]”.
He assured that everything will be done by the EC to ensure that the elections come off as scheduled as President Nana Akufo-Addo has clearly indicated he will not clinch on to power beyond his mandate.
“Suffice it to say however that the president of the republic at the various forums, given strong indication that he does not intend to stay one day beyond the constitutional mandate given to him; that is up to the midnight of January 6,” the Suame MP stated.
