By William
Yaw Owusu
Wednesday
July 25, 2018
Former President John Dramani Mahama has joined other
members of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) in condemning
President Akufo-Addo over the appointment of Jean Mensa as the new Electoral Commission
(EC) Chairperson.
In what can be described as calculated efforts by
the NDC to frustrate the President’s nomination, the former President appears
to be leading the charge to reject the new EC boss.
Former President Mahama, who is currently in Zimbabwe
on Election Observer Mission, took time of his busy schedule to tweet on social
media that the appointment of Mrs. Mensa and three others to EC by President
Akufo-Addo is ‘regrettable’ and threatens Ghana’s democracy.
“Current controversy surrounding removal of EC Chair
and deputies and subsequent appointment of new commissioners is regrettable and
carries a potential to erode Ghana’s democratic credentials,” he tweeted.
Mahama’s
Logic
Per the former President’s logic, President
Akufo-Addo cannot nominate a new EC Boss because there is a case in court
challenging her removal from office.
Interestingly, when the petition was filed to
challenge the validity of the EC to declare him winner of the 2012 Presidential
Election, Mr. Mahama continued to hold himself out as President in spite of the
suit.
Smear
Campaign
Members of Parliament (MP) have been making wild
allegations against Mrs Mensa since her nomination by the President, saying
that she is in bed with the NPP.
MP for North Dayi in the Volta Region, Rockson
Dafeamakpor, claimed on Joy FM that
they have evidence that Mrs Mensa has been visiting President Akufo-Addo but
could not prove it.
Allied
Groups
Some groups allied to the NDC led by People’s
National Convention (PNC) Chairman, Bernard Mornah, have entered the fray,
saying the President did not consult broadly.
But PNC General Secretary, Atik Mohammed has been
extolling the virtues of Mrs. Mensa.
Mixed
Reactions
DAILY
GUIDE understands that President Akufo-Addo did extensive
consultations before settling on the IEA boss even though he is not bound by
law.
President Akufo-Addo was said to have sought the
advice of former EC Boss Dr. Kwadwo Afari Gyan and some former top officials of
the commission.
However, the Progressive People Party (PPP) was
adamant that the President did enough consultation.
Its National Secretary, Murtala Mohammed, said the
appointment of the new EC officials would have “passed the litmus test of
transparency, good governance and best practices if they were consulted.”
NPP’s
Position
The ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) said that it has
nothing to say about the appointment of Mrs Mensa.
“Primarily (this position) is about competence,
integrity and neutrality, and any of them who are kicking against it should prove
that this criterion, the person does not have it. With such argument, then
we’ll also be able to discuss the issues, but for someone to say: I have
quarreled with the person one time or the other, or my organisation had
difficulty with her organisation, so all individuals coming from that
organisation should not hold public position, I don’t think is fair,” John
Boadu, General Secretary of NPP told Class
FM.
“We have no choice really. It’s the constitution of
our country. We’ve lived with it for so many years since the inception of the
fourth republican constitution and this is a process that has gone on with
Afari Gyan…Charlotte Osei. Even with her, all the difficulties we had, we lived
with them until they themselves quarreled and brought out issues that necessitated
workers of the commission to petition the president. The president had to go
through the process as prescribed by the constitution.”
Civil
Society
The Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO),
in a statement, said the selection of Jean Mensa is the best thing because she
understands the subject of elections.
Many civil society organizations, including the
Centre for Democratic Development (CDD), have urged the NDC to send any
grievances they might have against the nomination of Mrs. Mensa and the rest to
the Council of State.
Head of Advocacy and Policy Engagements at CDD, Kojo
Asante, suggested to the NDC on Joy FM that “we should not take the
opportunity that the Council of State offers us lightly.
Constitutionally, that
is the only body now that can put any restraint or checks on a discretion of
the President.”
Prof Yaw Gyampo, Director for the Centre for
European Studies at the University of Ghana, who has worked closely with Mrs.
Mensa at the IEA for 14 years, said that the Minority was being petty on the
issues.
“Of course
the NDC is saying that they are partisan and all that, I do not know, I’m very
curious in knowing about their partisan connections that the NDC says they will
expose, but as far as I am concerned, the issues that are being raised by the
NDC against Jean Mensa is something that border on some petty issues.”
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