Adoption of new EC logo lacked transparency – Egbert Faibille

Private legal practitioner, Egbert Faibille Jr. says the method the Electoral Commission (EC) employed in getting its new logo designed was not transparent.

According to him, as a public institution, the EC was supposed to adopt a competitive process by inviting individuals who are interested in the competition to send their own designs but this was not done.

Mr. Faibille said the act of springing up a logo on Ghanaians by the Commission contradicts the rules and regulations requiring public institutions to make their operations transparent.

The Commission’s new logo has generated some heated debates in the public about whether it was necessary to change its logo in the first place.

Some opposition political parties such as the New Patriotic Party (NPP), People’s National Convention (PNC) and the Progressive People’s Party (PPP) have expressed their misgivings the logo.

Brand experts have also said the new logo does not send any message to Ghanaians with regards to the core function of the Commission.

Speaking on the Joy FM/MultiTV’s news analysis program, Mr. Faibille described the EC’s new logo as an invitation for a “needless acrimony”.

“What is the rationale behind the EC changing its logo”?, he asked. He believes the Commission ought to concentrate on the November 2016 polls.

He explained that because officials of the Commission are “unelected representatives of the people of Ghana”, they have to act in the best interest of the people.

Commenting on the design of the logo, Mr. Faibille said the new logo has nothing to show the work of the Commission.

Drawing a sharp contrast, he said the previous logo detailed the coat of arms of Ghana which many people were able to connect to it easily.

Editor-in-Chief of the New Crusading Guide newspaper, Malik Kweku Baako Jr. called on the Commission to be prudent as far as the spending of public funds is concerned.

He said the way officials of the government are trying to fend off opposition to the EC’s logo amounted to building a “Chinese wall” between the EC's conduct of elections and the manner in which it spends public money.

Mr. Baako called on Ghanaians to show interest in the issues surrounding the Commission ahead of the November 2016 polls and how they would be resolved.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Austin Brako-Powers | Email: [email protected]