Ghana has started implementing a wide range of electoral reforms ahead of what may be hotly contested general elections later this year.

The major reforms, being undertaken by the Electoral Commission (EC), include the launch of a new five year strategic plan, a redefined corporate vision and mission, new brand identity, new corporate values, and improved organisational arrangement.

The whole identity represents a unified common purpose and vision and demonstrates our independence as an institution

The comprehensive list of 27 reforms followed recommendations by a special committee set up by the EC after the 2012 election results were challenged in court. EC set up the committee to synthesize the various reforms proposed by the panel of Supreme Court judges, political parties, governance institutions and civil society groups.

“This formed the basis for the preparation of the strategic plan,” EC chairperson Charlotte Osei said at the launch of the Commission’s five year plan and a new website on Tuesday.

She said the internal reforms would strengthen the institution to better carry out its legal mandate and set standards for elections conduct in Africa.

“Our job at the EC is to deliver on the electoral mandate, enable and facilitate free and fair elections in Ghana and regulate the activities of all registered political parties,” Osei said. “We envision that the EC will be a benchmark in Africa for enabling independent, trusted, world class democratic elections for citizens and candidates alike.

“Objectives have been defined and action plans created for implementation across five pillars of the organisation [the commission] including our mandate, our people, our resources, our processes and our brand.”

The EC has also introduced a new logo – rounded in nature – with inner arrows and embroiled in blue, red, gold and green colours in a move to assert its independence and neutrality. “The whole identity represents a unified common purpose and vision and demonstrates our independence as an institution,” Osei said.

The reform proposals include changing the election month from December to November, embarking on periodic voter registration and taking of oaths by election officials and party agents before a judicial officer.

EC also want to institutionalise the inter-party advisory committee (IPAC), use of biometric verification devices for provisional and voter register as well as raising minimum educational qualification requirements for election officials.

The commission will improve quality of training staff, give priority to persons with disabilities at polling stations and issue clear statement on procedures to follow upon adjournment of polls.

According to the reforms, allowances for electoral officials would be improved and the EC would be required to serialise statements of polls and declaration of results sheets in addition to setting up a national collation centre to replace the “strong room” concept.

Collation officers would be appointed for each of the 275 constituencies. But the EC would defer adoption of electronic voting and sanction officials who breach electoral laws.

The commission says it would take steps to reduce rejected ballots by 50 percent, extend the period of notice for voter registration from 14 to 21 days, and requested that it must be given the mandate to apply to the courts to delete names of unqualified persons from the interim voters’ register.

Among other requirements, the EC would also be obliged to give a copy of the final certified register to political parties at least 21 days before the elections, reduce the number of voters per polling station and publish an annual calendar of its activities at the beginning of each election year.

A list of polling stations with their codes and locations would be published not later than 21 days before the elections. Returning officers would give out copies of proxy, special and absent voters’ lists to candidates and political parties as well as issue copies of collation sheets to candidates and party agents.

The changes would expand the list of special voters to include accredited journalists and election observers, publication of the presidential results at each polling station on the EC website and define the term “ordinarily resident”.

Specific modalities for manual verification to back biometric verification was put on hold for discussion at the IPAC level.

The commission rejected a proposal to expand membership of IPAC civil society groups and the raging issue of no voting without biometric verification. “The commission is of the view that the implementation of this comprehensive list of reforms will make the outcome of the 2016 elections credible and acceptable to all the stakeholders involved,” Osei said.

However, political parties and analysts have taken issue with the new logo, which they say does not depict the actual work of the commission.

Ransford Gyampo, a political analyst said the old logo, which was decorated with the coat of arms, black star and showed someone casting a ballot best depicted EC’s mandate and identity. “The best logo is the coat of arms; no logo represents the authority, legitimacy of nationhood more than coat of arms,” he argued.

President John Mahama won the last presidential election 2012 with 50.7 percent of the vote against opposition leader Nana Akufo-Addo’s 47.7 percent. The opposition unsuccessfully challenged the outcome in court citing alleged irregularities.