The Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana launched its vision 2020 – a strategic plan that would drive its operation in the next five years (2016-2020) at the Best Western Premier Hotel in Accra Ghana on 26 April, 2016. IMANI was represented at this function. See below a report of the event.

Reported by Brian Dzansi | IMANI Africa

Context

The development of the strategic plan according to the chairperson of the EC, Mrs Charlotte Osei began in 2015 with the support of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). This development gave the commission an opportunity for introspection into the nature of their mandate, their work and purpose.  The strategic plan was based on research, internal and external audit, risk analysis, and consultative discussions held with numerous stakeholders, the EC chairperson explained.

The plan launched by Ms. Christine Evans-Klock, United Nations (UN) Ghana Resident Coordinator / UNDP Resident Representative outlined the EC vision, mission, objectives, specific targets, values,  a new brand identity and an interactive website.

Strategic pillars of the 5 year plan

• Right people: Doing the right things at the right time using the right resources
• Develop stakeholder relationships: Define the EC brand proposition and create a clear and consistent communications framework which repositions the EC to all stakeholders as delivering trusted, independent elections
• Electoral Mandate: Ensure that quality infrastructure, logistics, facilities and strategic planning are implemented to deliver world class elections.
• Organizing process for delivery: transform the effectiveness and efficiency of the commission through the deployment of world class technology solutions throughout the organization to support our internal and external processes. Build an organization that can support the technology deployed and do it responsibly
• Engaging our people: we will create environment where our people can thrive and excel. We will build a culture of engagement throughout the organization. We will do this through effective communication, career planning, and capacity building and 360 performance management solutions.
• Leveraging resources: We will supplement our financial requirements by developing additional revenue streams specifically related to training and development of election related services in Ghana and across the region. Through the effective use of technology and the optimization of our processes we will drive effective and efficient use of our financial resources.

The vision of the EC as per the five-year plan: EC will be the benchmark in Africa for enabling independent, Trusted, World Class democratic elections for citizens and candidates alike.

Its mission is: Deliver on electoral mandate, Enable and facilitate free and fair elections in Ghana and regulate the activities of all registered political parties.

The chairperson of the Electoral Commission also outlines the values she upholds in the discharge of her duties. They are:

• Accountability: I take ownership of my work, my responsibilities and my decisions
• Excellence: I strive for my personal best in my thoughts, my words and my actions, being better than today than I was yesterday
• Inclusiveness: I work to ensure that the voices of all our people are heard, in the organization, the community and the country
• Integrity: I am honest and transparent in all my dealings, ensuring I am worthy of the trust placed in myself and the EC

Mrs Charlotte Osei also took the opportunity to explain the rationale behind the new EC’s logo which has attracted a number of public criticisms.

• The circle represents unity; singular and unified in its purpose- Our democracy
• The blue of the circle represents the stability and independence of the Commission
• The inward moving arrows reflect all the people of Ghana, Equally coming together for the common purpose- the right to select their political leadership
• The use of the red, gold and green represents our country, Ghana
• The whole identity represents a unified common purpose and vision and demonstrates our independence as an institution
• Tagline of the new logo is: “for the people”

The Electoral commission however failed to indicate the cost of the rebranding process.

In summary, the primary goal of the strategic plan is to create a world class, trusted and independent electoral body in Ghana.

Brian Dzansi is a researcher and Social Media Manager at IMANI Africa.