Ever since Akufo-Addo appointed you two (Jean Mensa and Bossman Asare (PhD) as the Commissioner and deputy of Ghana’s Electoral Commission respectively, you two have been struggling to justify your shameful loyalty to the ruling NPP government.
Your first blunder was the first IPAC (Inter Party Advisory Committee) meeting that you called. It was revealed that you guys sent notices of the meeting to the opposition parties just two hours to the start of the meeting and when the parties protested you quickly came out to apologise.
Then, out of nowhere the whole Ghana was hit with videos and pictures of Mrs. Mensa openly dining and dancing with appointees of the NPP government during a party organized for ‘’FEMALE APPOINTEES’’ of the NPP. This is supposed to be a neutral person. We can ask whether Afari-Djan or Charlotte Osei was ever seen in such circumstances with any political party.
During the referendum organized for the creation of the new regions, Civil Society and many Ghanaians raised genuine concerns regarding the way it was conducted, especially due to the irregularities and how the media were warned to stay away from coverage of the process.
Shockingly, the EC through its chairperson, Mrs. Mensa, rudely brushed off and poured scorn on the concerns and of Ghanaians in what could best be described as “you can go to hell, we don’t care”.
Then came an issue involving the conduct of the EC again and when the NDC tried to draw their attention to it, the Deputy Commissioner, Dr. Bossman Asare, who speaks as though he is the General Secretary of the NPP, told the NDC that if they did not conduct themselves well the E.C would not supervise its (NDC’s) upcoming Presidential Primaries. He ignorantly did not know that it’s the constitution that gives the E.C. the responsibility of supervising such an important election. The responsibility is not the pleasure and decision of the E.C.
Dr. Asare in particular, most of the time, forgets that he is no longer the University of Ghana TESCON Patron (Student wing of the NPP) but a deputy at the Electoral Commission. His belligerent attitude is one that he must eschew to save his skin.
His boss Madam Jean Mensa again, displayed gross ignorance and ineptitude in the aftermath of the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election when she arrogantly disrespected to experienced election observer body CODEO who had raised series of irregularities during the bloody elections.
She had the nerve to call them LIARS. She completely rubbished the widespread reports of shootings and intimidation at the centers and claimed that the elections that saw a paltry turnout of 19%, was peaceful and fair compared to any other elections that have been held in Ghana.
Jean Mensa and the EC’s cover-up of the Ayawaso Wuogon elections was badly exposed when the President upon heavy public pressure set up a commission of enquiry to look into the reports. During the sittings of the commission, not only was the ignorance of Jean Mensah exposed concerning the security set up of elections in Ghana, all the lies about the elections being free, fair and peaceful, were completely shredded by evidence upon evidence by witnesses who appeared before the commission.
From all the many fallouts listed above, one would have thought that Jean Mensa and Bossman Asare would have reformed and would do some learning, but no. Just 48 hours ago, Jean Mensa, yet again, characteristically, displayed her agenda by appending her signature to a release which amongst others stated that the ‘’EC after EXTENSIVE discussions with the political parties at IPAC agreed to compile a new voters register for the 2020 Presidential and Parliamentary elections’’.
The uproar and protest from Ghanaians is still loud. It has since emerged that there was in fact never a discussion on the compilation of a new voters roll. It was in fact, not even on the agenda for the IPAC meeting so how she smuggled such a thing into the statement as one issue that was ‘’EXTENSIVELY DISCUSSED’’ remains a mystery to Ghanaians.
In their weak defense, the rude Bossman Asare cheekily told the whole of Ghana and beyond that the EC does not need the permission of anyone before compiling a voters’ register. His posturing and utterances sounded like the General Secretary of the NPP or that of Abronye DC, the deputy NPP Brong Ahafo Chairman.
What is evidently clear is that Jean Mensa and Bossman Asare do not know their work. This fact is a danger to the democratic forward march of Ghana. The earlier they drop their egos at home, bury their arrogance and correct their ignorance, the better it will be for all of us.
We all admit that Ghana is going through hardship but the peace we enjoy is sustaining us and no group of persons should be allowed to jeopardize it.
Shalom
By Dzifa Gunu
