NDC Agrees to Rejoin IPAC Following National Peace Council’s Intervention

In a significant development, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has decided to resume its participation in the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) following a mediation effort by the National Peace Council (NPC). The party officially accepted the NPC’s request during a stock-taking conference held at Peduase in the Eastern Region on Thursday, December 14.

The conference aimed to assess institutional progress in establishing the necessary resilience for credible, transparent, and peaceful general elections in 2024. Notably, the NDC had abstained from IPAC meetings since March 2020, expressing dissatisfaction with the Electoral Commission’s (EC) approach. The party accused the EC of neglecting decisions made during IPAC meetings as part of its electoral reform initiatives.

At the commencement of Thursday’s gathering in Peduase, Reverend Dr. Ernest Adu-Gyamfi, Chairman of the National Peace Council, urged the NDC to rejoin IPAC to contribute to consensus-building. He highlighted extensive engagements with both the EC and the NDC on the matter, expressing optimism that the NDC would announce its decision by the end of the meeting.

Addressing the conference, EC Chairperson Jean Mensa appealed to the NDC to rejoin IPAC, emphasizing the Commission’s commitment to welcoming the party for the greater good of Ghana’s democracy. Mrs. Mensa remarked, “We miss the fire of the NDC at IPAC meetings, and we invite them.”

Responding to the call, Mr. Johnson Asiedu Nketia, National Chairman of the NDC, affirmed the party’s commitment to supporting initiatives shaping the country’s democratic and electoral processes. He agreed to rejoin IPAC but stipulated that the EC must restore IPAC to its “consensus-building” approach to implementing electoral reforms before the NDC’s participation in the next meeting.

“On behalf of the Party, we accept the appeal from the National Peace Council that we should consider returning to IPAC, but we want to return to IPAC and not any other forum. The other side is for us to work to make sure that IPAC returns to its consensus-building days… the issues that blocked our return should be dealt with before our next IPAC meeting,” Mr. Nketia emphasized.

Mr. Nketia also expressed concern about the EC’s efforts to make the Ghana Card the sole identification document for the Commission’s proposed continuous voter registration exercise. The NDC argued that this move had the potential to disenfranchise approximately one million voters, a position the EC had disputed.

“We will support it if everyone had the Ghana Card,” Mr. Nketia asserted.

Ms. Kathleen Addy, Chairperson of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), highlighted the uniqueness of the 2024 Election in the context of political instability in the West Africa Sub-region. She emphasized the need for collaboration to ensure a peaceful electoral process and post-election period. “We are more vulnerable than before. We must work with each other and assure each other so that we can arrive at the elections and beyond the elections in peace and intact,” she urged.