The Majority Leader in Ghana’s Parliament, Hon. Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu on the floor of the House Tuesday April 4, 2017 revealed-a high level of mistrust among the Commissioners of the Electoral Commission of Ghana (EC).
A report by Parliament’s Special Committee which he chairs, said, the seeming division could have negative implications on future elections if it is not resolved.
“A general observation from the committee was that the Commissioners are not on good terms. It cannot be good for the conduct of elections.
For instance when they appeared before us and we asked about the whereabouts of the Chairman, the Deputy Commissioner said : ‘my information is that she has travelled outside.’ Without informing others, they don’t know that she is outside the country. “The Deputy Commissioners did not know the whereabouts of the Chairperson of the Commission.
It cannot be good for the image of the Commission. That is why we are saying that we should find a way of resolving the differences among them, but ultimately it will impact on the conduct of elections.”
But responding to the the Majority Leader, Communications Director for the EC, Mr. Eric Kofi Dzapkasu watered down the claim of division among the Commissioners.
He added, what the Majority Leader referred to was not enough to say the Commissioners are at war. He said, ”when you visit the EC and observe how they work, there is no evidence that the Commissioners are at war.
They meet regularly, come to work as expected and as I speak, there is an outstanding District Assembly Elections in the Brong Ahafo Region and the Commissioner are all around working.
Some are currently in the region working. What the Majority Leader was referring to in Parliament cannot be enough basis to say there is some division.
To the best of my knowledge, the centre is holing, the Commission is a united body and there is a cordial relationship among the Commissioners…However, what I will recommend is that, if there are such issues like that; going forward, we should observe how it plays out, because to the best of my knowledge, the division does not actually exist at the office and how we run the Commission.’’
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