Decline of public trust in EC worrying – Marietta Brew

Former Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Marietta Brew, has expressed concerns over the current decline in public trust of the Electoral Commission (EC), emphasizing that the trends are worrying.

Delivering a lecture as a guest speaker at a Constitution Day Public Lecture event hosted by the UPSA Law School in conjunction with One Ghana Movement – a CSO, the Former Attorney General explained that the Afrobarometer Round 9 Survey in 2022, conducted by the Centre for Democratic Development shows the credibility of the EC and the trust reposed in them by the people of Ghana has diminished.

Miss Brew was speaking on the topic, “Reflections on our democracy: the Constitution, Elections and the Judiciary”.

She recalled that, for instance, the following questions were put to the population by the CDD in 2022: “How much do you trust each of the following or you haven’t heard enough to say: The Electoral Commission?”

Only 9.8% of the population said they trusted the EC a lot (compared to 20.8 in 2019). 22.7% said they somewhat trusted the EC (compared to 32.1% in 2019), 27.3% said they trust the EC just a little (compared to 22.2 in 2019), 0.5% said they don’t know whether they trust the EC (compared to 7.7% in the 2019 report) and 39.7% said they do not trust the EC at all (compared to 18.9% in 2019).



“As an ordinary citizen relying on this data, I can safely conclude that there is an increase in public mistrust of the EC” Miss Brew emphasized.
According to her, the decline in public trust is not surprising, as the EC Chairperson, for the first time in the history of Ghana’s elections, publicly declared in 2020 that she inadvertently announced wrong numbers that led to the declaration of Presidential Results and corrected them without involving the political parties or providing them with a clear explanation as to how this egregious mistake occurred.

She indicated that in a country where elections are fiercely contested and often determined by a tiny margin, the admission of any error is bound to affect the credibility of the EC.

“The happenings did not require a soothsayer to predict this decline in trust in the aftermath of the 2020 elections” the Former Attorney General added.

Admittedly, Miss Brew said it is a fact that the 1992 Constitution created an independent EC that is not subject to the direction or control of any person or authority except as provided in the Constitution but added, “It is, however, crucial to understand that this independence has fetters as same Constitution makes the EC subject to the principles of accountability and other checks and balances enshrined.”

She mentioned the electoral crisis of Santrokofi, Akpafu, Likpe and Lolobi, popularly called SALL and some aspects of the 2020 Election Petition as the reasons why trust in the EC has waned.

Miss Brew however maintained that the country’s reputation as a thriving democracy despite the challenges, cannot be questioned.

Other key speakers at the event were Former Attorney General Joe Ghartey and keynote speaker and former EC Chair, Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan.