The Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana has reacted to criticisms made by ex- President John Mahama in respect of its neutrality and operational efficiency.
The Commission said the comments were made by Mr Mahama in an interview at the London School of Economics and Political Science.
According to the EC the NDC flagbearer expressed concerns about the kind people appointed to run the affairs of the elections management body as well as its operations.
In reaction, the Commission pointed out to him that all the current commissioners were appointed based on the same constitutional provisions he used to appoint persons as president, whose neutrality was also questioned.
“Article 43(2) of the Constitution provides that, “The members of the Commission shall be appointed by the President under article 70 of this Constitution.” Former President Mahama during his presidency. exercised his authority under this same provision of the Constitution to make an appointment to the Commission. There were Ghanaians who questioned the neutrality of the person he appointed.
There were also Ghanaians who equally accused President Mahama at the time of appointing persons with NDC sympathies to the Commission. What was different then is that other Ghanaian political leaders did not use every opportunity they got to demonise and denigrate the Electoral Commission as a result of their reservations about President Mahama’s appointment to the Commission. He, on the other hand, has never missed an opportunity to denigrate this Commission,” the EC’s Deputy Director of Research, Monitoring and Evaluation, Mr Fred Tetteh wrote.
Let the wishes of Ghanaians prevail, do not rig the elections for anyone – Mahama to EC
Touching on efficiency of elections conducted by the Commission, Mr Tetteh stated that, “When President Mahama refers to innovations introduced to give Ghana one of the best electoral processes in Africa, the former President seems to forget that the history of Ghana’s electoral processes is one that shows improvements in every election cycle.
Indeed, for most voters who have had voting experiences under the 4th Republic, the 2020 elections provided the best voting experience, with shorter queues and an even shorter time spent going through the voting process. Additionally. the Commission reduced the cost of election from Thirteen US dollars ($13) to Seven US dollars and Seventy cents ($7.70) per person and saved the nation a whopping ninety million US$90 million. For the first time in the history of the country, the Election was fully funded by the Government of Ghana.”
Read full statement RE- ALLEGATIONS AGAINST THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION BY FORMER PRESIDENT JOHN DRAMANI MAHAMA- PRESS RELEASE.