Politics of Tuesday, 19 April 2016

Source: rainbowradioonline.com

Discussion over new EC logo totally unnecessary - NDC

General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress, Johnson Asiedu Nketia General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress, Johnson Asiedu Nketia

General Secretary of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketia has described as totally unnecessary the ongoing debate surrounding the controversial new logo of the Electoral Commission (EC).

The decision by the EC to introduce a new logo as part of their re-branding exercise was met with wild criticisms from both opposition parties, journalists, academicians and experts.

The EC last week announced that it will soon launch a new logo in its bid to re-brand.

The new logo, a blue rounded crest with patches of white, yellow, red and green, has been described by critics as childish and inappropriate.

But the critics believes that the current logo reflects the work of the Commission better than the new one it intends introducing.

The current Logo has a black star in between two eagles at both sides of a shield, with a hand in the middle casting a ballot, which gives one an idea of what the Commission does.

It also has the inscription ‘Transparency, Fairness, Integrity. The new one however has none of these features.

Commenting on the issue for the first time, the General Secretary of the NDC said the discussion and criticism "is completely unnecessary and does not concern anybody in the NDC. Whatever the EC decides to use as their logo; it doesn't concern the NDC...I find the discussion totally unnecessary and that is why I have not participated in it."

According to him, the administrative decisions taken by the Commission is none of their business as a political and any other political parties.

He posited that, the only role or collaboration between the EC and political parties as to do with the organization of elections.

Mr. Nketiah told host of State of Affairs on GH One in an interview that, "The Electoral Commissioner and her two deputies act in executive capacity and they run the organization as chief executives; That is one function. The other function is for them to run elections and so it is the other function of running elections where we [political parties] collaborate with them through IPAC and other things. The decisions they take concerning their administrative functions has nothing to do with the NDC and for that matter, any political parties."

Meanwhile, the EC has started using the logo although its yet to officially launch it. Deputy Commissioner of Operations at a workshop organized for journalist noted that, the EC do not have a new logo yet.

But with use of the new logo on their official document, it raises a number of questions which many Ghanaians would want answers to.