The Head of Research and Programmes at the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD), Dr Franklin Oduro, has urged the Electoral Commission (EC) to take useful lessons from the controversy surrounding the setting up of the election steering committee to broaden consultations.

According to him, it was good that the furore surrounding the setting up of the committee and conflicting messages that emerged after an Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meeting on Friday happened this early and not close to election day.

Some political parties had raised concerns about the necessity of a steering committee at the meeting, and this is happening at a time when all stakeholders are yet to reach a consensus on how to achieve a credible voters’ register.

In an interview with The Finder, Dr Oduro stated that even though the EC takes its mandate from the constitution, it ought to execute that mandate in consultation with major stakeholders, especially political parties, despite the fact that the ultimate decision will be made by the EC.

According to him, there is lack of clarity when it comes to the terms of reference of the election steering committee.

He explained that the seven-member commission of EC have been empowered by the constitution to take decisions, and therefore setting up a steering committee, which under normal circumstances also has powers to take decisions, raises questions.

“Will the decisions of the steering committee be binding?” he asked.

Dr Oduro noted that, ideally, the election steering committee should have first been discussed at IPAC meeting before setting it up.

He explained that IPAC has worked well in past elections and, therefore, must be utilised well.

He regretted that a proposal by CDD to the effect that selected Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) be included in IPAC to verify decisions was rejected by political parties and the EC.

The CDD Head of Research and Programmes was of the view that if the EC had swiftly issued a statement on the outcomes of IPAC meeting, the confusion could have been avoided.

Political parties have expressed shock at the EC’s statement that its controversial November 7 elections steering committee has not been suspended.

After an IPAC meeting with the EC on Friday, the political parties emerged with the understanding that the committee set up by the commission has been suspended.

The political parties had raised concerns about the necessity of a steering committee at the meeting.

The parties said the EC failed to provide satisfactory answers to questions about why it set up the steering committee.

The governing National Democratic Congress (NDC), the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the People’s National Commission (PNC) expressed satisfaction about the decision to suspend the committee.

However, the EC, in a most surprising turnaround, released a statement Saturday saying that the political parties got the outcome of the meeting wrong.

The commission says reports of the suspension of its steering committee are "erroneous" and "should be disregarded".

The political parties and social commentators have raised concerns about the exact mandate of the steering committee.

Questions have also been asked about the selection process of the committee’s membership.

Some members of the committee have been identified to have affiliations with the governing NDC.