The Deputy General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has accused President Akufo-Addo of defying the independence of the Electoral Commission (EC) and rendering it a political institution.
The unhelpful tag, Mustapha Gbande explained, is because of the appointment of the members of his party to the EC which is supposed to be an independent body devoid of political appointments.
“His Excellency the President clearly has defied the independence of the Electoral Commission and rendered it a political institution by appointing known members and operatives of his party,” he stated.
His comments come after President Akufo-Addo on March 29 swore into the office of the Electoral Commission, three new members.
However, their appointments have been criticised, with civil society calling on two of the members to resign.
Speaking in an interview on Joy FM’s Top Story on Wednesday, Mr Gbande stated that “one of the commissioners appointed recently from the Bono Region is actually the Director of IT for the NPP in the 2020 election.
“And so you cannot call such an individual an ordinarily Ghanaian who will qualify to represent this very preserved institution by the Constitution of Ghana.”
According to him, the newly appointed members with party affiliations “must see that the independence of their work won’t be one that the public will trust because of your affiliation with the NPP.”
Meanwhile, the Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO) is demanding the immediate resignation of Dr. Peter Appiahene and Hajia Salima Ahmed Tijani as members of the Electoral Commission (EC).
They hold the view that these appointments have the tendency to make the EC look partisan and will affect its credibility in future elections.
The duo’s resignation therefore will “be in the supreme interest of our country’s continual democratic progress, election peace and credibility and indeed, the overall national interest.”
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Source:
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