A Senior Lecturer at the Political Science Department of the University of Ghana, Dr. Ransford Gyampo has argued that the explanation given by the Electoral Commission for the removal of the Coat of Arms from the logo doesn’t hold.
The Coat of Arms and the ballot box were two key elements of the old logo, which was removed to make room for the new one that has drawn criticism from a section of Ghanaians.
Chairperson of the EC, Charlotte Osei on Tuesday justified the EC’s decision to leave out the country’s Coat of Arms in its new logo saying the Commission does not represent the authority of the state.
But Dr. Gyampoh insisted that the EC is backed by the authority of the State.
“The position of the EC on this shows their tendency to trivialize issues of national importance. The EC is an independent election management body provided for by our Constitution and it is backed by the authority of the state and not the government. Maybe Charlotte Osei wanted to say that the EC is not under the authority of the government and she slipped.”
Mr. Gyampo further remanded the EC that “Governments will come [and] governments will go but the Electoral Commission will still be there and what assures it of its permanent and its authority to act is the Coat of Arms and not the logo that is being bandied around.”
The Chairperson of the Electoral Commission of Ghana, Charlotte Osei had defended the Commission’s decision to maintain the controversial logo despite the criticisms saying that it reminds them of the values needed for their work. Speaking at the launch of the logo and the Commission’s five-year strategic plan, Charlotte Osei said the new identity embodied the vision of the EC.
“This is our new logo. We like it. We picked it. It makes us happy and it reminds us of all the values that we want to bring into our work and where we are going as a commission,” she added.
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