Press Release

Philip Ayesu, Imani

August 26, 2014

A public forum on the fundamental indicators of a vibrant democracy

Philip Ayesu

August 26, 2014

The ability of a country to hold successive successful elections deemed free and fair by all stakeholders, is one of the fundamental indicators of a vibrant democracy. Ghana has relatively done better than her peers on the continent with the successful execution of four general elections since the commencement of the fourth Republic in 1992.

Last year, Ghana proved to the world that the practice of electoral democracy is rooted in our politics when after the most contentious election in its recent history, the losing party took the unprecedented step of seeking legal redress from the Supreme Court. Hence from February to August 2013, the country witnessed an exhaustive and tensed legal contest that culminated in a marginal verdict for the incumbent on 29th August 2013.

However, the Supreme Court Justices conceded that Ghana’s electoral system could benefit from some reforms that will in the future reduce the likelihood of ambiguity and unfairness. The Justices made the following recommendations among others:

•Voters’ register must be compiled and made available to all contesting political parties for scrutiny in good time
• A clear criteria for recruiting presiding officers
• A supplementary voters’ register to cater for exigencies
• Ensuring more robust and reliable biometric devices are employed for the exercise
• Review the structure of pink sheets to improve usability

As we draw near to the first anniversary of the verdict, we take the opportunity to review the entire process of the petition, the verdict and recommendations.

To this end, we are cordially inviting you to a public forum on Friday 29th August at the Alisa Hotel in Accra at 9:00am.Please bring a colleague along. Professor H. Kwasi Prempeh, a renowned expert in constitutional law will deliver the keynote address and a panel of eminent Ghanaians will lead a discussion on the topic: “The 2013 Election Petition: Status of Recommendations for Electoral reforms”

You are cordially invited to this public form. For early reservation please call Mr. Aboagye Mintah at IMANI on 0573087486 / 0302 972939. You can also email info@imanighana.org or simply reply this email. to confirm your participation.

About Professor H. Kwasi Prempeh

For over ten years, Kwasi has been a Professor of Law at Seton Hall University School of Law, Newark, New Jersey, teaching corporate, international business and constitutional law courses. He was selected as a Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellow and was in residence at the National Endowment for Democracy in 2011. In 2010, he spent his sabbatical year as a Visiting Professor at the newly established law school at the Ghana Institute Of Management And Public Administration (GIMPA). Kwasi has written and consulted extensively on issues of constitutionalism, governance, legal policy, and democracy in Ghana and the rest of Africa. Kwasi was the Director of Legal Policy and Governance of the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD) and he continues to serve on the Board of Directors of CDD. Kwasi is also a board member of Ashesi University College, a leading private University in Ghana. Kwasi is a graduate of Yale Law School, where he served as a teaching fellow and on the Yale Law Journal as an editor. Kwasi also holds an MBA from Baylor University, Texas, and a B.Sc. Hons in Business Administration degree from University of Ghana Business School.

Philip Ayesu