Parliament has approved a budget of GH¢786.9 million for the Electoral Commission’s services for the 2024 fiscal year.
The House also requested that the Finance Ministry address the shortfall of GH¢140.7 million to ensure that the 2024 Presidential and Parliamentary Elections are conducted without compromise.
Mr. Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, the Majority Leader and Chairman of the Special Budget Committee of Parliament, who presented the motion for the approval of the budgetary allocation on Wednesday, December 20, explained that the Commission had requested an additional GH¢140.7 million, which unfortunately could not be granted by the Finance Ministry.
The Commission insisted that without the requested amount, it would be difficult to conduct the Presidential and Parliamentary Elections as scheduled for December 2024.
The Special Budget Committee, therefore, deemed it appropriate to insist that the Commission be provided with the GH¢140.7 million to enable it to undertake several activities and procure equipment for the successful conduct of the elections.
These activities include the procurement of additional BVDs and BVR, recruitment and training of electoral officers, replacement of exited staff, upgrade of Data Centre, and purchase of ICT equipment.
The Electoral Commission had requested a budget of GH¢932.03 million for the 2024 financial year to carry out its planned programs and activities effectively.
However, the Finance Ministry has capped the allocation at GH¢786.9 million, creating a budget shortfall of GH¢140.7 million.
This shortfall will force the Commission to cut down on critical activities necessary for the successful conduct of the 2024 general elections.
Consequently, the Commission has appealed to the Committee to intervene to ensure that the proposed budgetary amount is approved and released on time to enable them to undertake these planned programs as scheduled.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu expressed the view that the activities of the Electoral Commission are time-bound and extremely critical to the stability of the country.
He believes that any impediment in the way of the Commission may be costly to the country.
The Committee also discussed the use of indelible ink, which was a problem during the December 19th, 2023, District Level Elections. The Committee expressed concern about the ink being easily removable, despite being told that it was produced in Ghana.
They were informed that the ink is not produced in Ghana and that nobody uses the indelible ink anymore. The Committee raised concerns about the use of this ink and urged the Ministry of Finance to ensure that the EC is adequately equipped to organize credible elections in 2024.
Mr Kofi Iddie Adams, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) MP for Buem, reiterated the need for the EC to maintain the use of indelible ink in marking voters who had exercised their franchise.
Mr Ahmed Ibrahim, Deputy Minority Whip and NDC MP for Banda urged the House to see to it that the Finance timeously releases the budgetary allocations to the EC.
Mr Frank Annoh-Dompreh, the Majority Chief Whip and NPP MP for Nsawam-Adoagyiri, also underscored the need for the House to work together to ensure that funds were made adequately available to the electoral body to perform its mandate.
Mrs Patricia Appiagyei, a member of the Special Budget Committee, who seconded the motion, emphasized the importance of ensuring that the EC is adequately equipped to organize credible elections in 2024.