EC boss impeachment: President refers petition to Chief Justice

The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has referred a petition by some unknown staff of the Electoral Commission seeking to impeach its head Mrs. Charlotte Osei to the Chief Justice, Sophia Akuffo. The petition was received by the Office of the President whilst the President was out of the country last week, but a press release from the presidency said the  petition was forwarded to the Chief Justice on Wednesday, July 26, 2017. The petition against the Chairperson of the EC was initially undated and unsigned, the release said, “Subsequently, counsel, Maxwell Opoku Agyemang, Esq., by letter dated 20^th July, 2017, wrote to the office of the President setting out the names of the petitioners and the date of the petition.” The names of the staff have not been made public yet. “Pursuant to the terms of Article 146(3), President Akufo-Addo has, thus, referred the petition to the Chief Justice for resolution, in accordance with the provisions of Article 146(3),” the release noted. The Director of Communications at the presidency, Eugene Arhin who confirmed the development to TV3 said the president took the decision “after studying” the petition. He remarked that in such situation the president has “no choice” but to refer it to the chief justice. Asked what the Chief Justice was tasked to do, Mr. Arhin simply said “for resolution…as quickly as possible”. He would not say if there was any timeline given by President Akufo-Addo. Read also: Charlotte Osei parries all 27 claims by ‘fictitious’ petitioners By Isaac Essel | editors.3news.com | Ghana