Kweku Baako Defends EC Boss

Veteran journalist, Kweku Baako Jnr., has described a formal request calling for the removal of the Electoral Commission (EC) Chairperson, Charlotte Osei, as an ‘incompetent petition filed by a competent lawyer.’

The Editor-in-Chief of the New Crusading Guide newspaper tore through the 28-point concerns raised by some staff of the EC and filed by a legal practitioner, Maxwell Opoku-Agyemang.

Mr. Baako pointing out several portions he considered “petty, inconsequential and flimsy” intended to trigger Article 146(3) of the 1992 Constitution which outlines impeachment processes for heads of constitutional bodies.

He said the claim that the ‘arrogant’ EC refused to grant audience to the leadership of the National Peace Council and an AU delegation which monitored the 2016 general election cannot be a ground for impeachment.

The claim is also not true, he said, and explained that the two groups had no appointment to meet the EC who was unavailable at the time of their visits.

The chairperson, however, honoured a scheduled meeting with the Peace Council and the AU delegation which was led by former South African President, Thabo Mbeki.

He said it was factually inaccurate, a statement attributed to the EC chair, indicating her dislike for a printing company- Buck Press Ltd., because of its perceived ties with the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

He urged the petitioners to verify with a transcript of her comments made during a BBC interview last year.

The veteran journalist said it is “no big deal” for the EC chairperson to attend a cabinet meeting unless the petitioners can prove that there was a conspiracy between the government and the chair.

He also dismissed the claim that Charlotte Osei compromised her neutrality and independence by arranging for a 2015 V8 Land Cruiser from the Office of the President.

This arrangement, according to Kweku Baako, has been in place since 1992 and cannot be a basis for an impeachment.

Kweku Baako, however, admitted some “big” allegations bordering on procurement, contracts and financial malfeasance were serious impeachable offences.

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