The Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana has responded to allegations made by former President John Mahama, who claimed that the current New Patriotic Party (NPP) government had appointed NPP sympathizers to the Commission.
The EC emphasized the neutrality of its recruitment process and questioned the accuracy of Mahama’s statements.
During an interview at the London School of Economics and Political Science, Mahama stated, “You as much as possible want to appoint people who are credible, who are respected, who everybody knows would be neutral. But this is a government that has a record of appointing NPP people onto the Electoral Commission.”
The statement further said “there were also Ghanaians who equally accused President Mahama at the time of appointing persons with NDC sympathies to the Commission. What was different then is that other Ghanaian political leaders did not use every opportunity they got to demonise and denigrate the Electoral Commission as a result of their reservations about President Mahama’s appointment to the Commission. He, on the other hand, has never missed an opportunity to denigrate this Commission”.
The EC countered Mahama’s allegations, pointing out that the Constitution allows the President to appoint members of the Commission.
The statement read, “Former President Mahama during his presidency exercised his authority under this same provision of the Constitution to make an appointment to the Commission. There were Ghanaians who questioned the neutrality of the person he appointed.”
The Commission further denied Mahama’s claims regarding the recruitment of returning officers, stating, “The allegation by former President Mahama that Ministers and DCEs were asked ‘to write the names of party apparatchiks and present them so that they would be appointed as the returning officers’ is not true.”
The EC urged all stakeholders to approach information dissemination and communication in the election year with “accuracy and responsibility” and reiterated its commitment to maintaining high standards of integrity in the electoral process.
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/Kojo Ansah
