In the wake of the allegations and counter allegations by the Commissioners of the Electoral Commission (EC), the Progressive People’s Party (PPP) has asked all three national Commissioners—the EC Chair and her two deputies—Commissioner in charge of Operations and Commissioner in charge of Corporate Services—to step aside to pave way for an independent investigation.
According to the PPP, it has monitored with “dismay the current allegations and counter allegations by the Commissioners of the Electoral Commission of Ghana and find this very worrying.”
“We, therefore, advise that all the Commissioners must willingly offer to step aside to prepare the grounds for a Commission of Enquiry to be set up to investigate the allegations and to put the troubling matters to rest,” the PPP made the call in a statement signed by its National Secretary, Murtala Mohammed, and issued in Accra yesterday.
However, the PPP charged that in the event that the commissioners “voluntarily” refuse to step aside; they must be “compelled to step aside.”
This, the statement stressed, will set in the motion to clean up what it described as the “quagmire” which has apparently engulfed the EC.
According to the statement, the issues raised in the allegations were serious enough to warrant further interrogation.
The Electoral Commission, the statement indicated, is one of the most sensitive institutions in the country, adding that “we cannot therefore allow these allegations to fester unduly.
…The potential for these to disturb the peace which we are currently enjoying in this country is immense,” it cautioned.
“For instance, the allegation of unilateral decisions taken by Commissioners in matters involving the future lives of fellow Ghanaians without recourse to the larger Commission is dangerous. As also matters of financial malfeasance against the public purse by Commissioners cannot surely be overlooked,” it said.
Against this background, the PPP urged President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to take due cognisance of what the Constitution allows in these matters, especially relating to such petitions, and apply it without “fear or favour.”
“No citizen is above the law,” it asserted.
“Any half- hearted efforts by President Akufo-Addo perceived as meant to delay the constitutional course as laid down will send unwanted signals to the chagrin of law abiding Ghanaians, who feel let down by the rot in which the EC Commissioners themselves have told us they now wallow in,” the statement warned.
It further implored Ghanaians to resist any attempt(s) by both the NPP and the NDC to politicise this matter.
“We need to ensure probity and accountability in our public institutions. The allegations as witnessed by all are not emanating from either the NDC or NPP, but by the workers of the commission and the commissioners themselves.
…We cannot therefore afford to trivialise these matters on the altar political victimisation,” the statement concluded.
Join GhanaStar.com to receive daily email alerts of breaking news in Ghana. GhanaStar.com is your source for all Ghana News. Get the latest Ghana news, breaking news, sports, politics, entertainment and more about Ghana, Africa and beyond.
