In a letter to the Council of State, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) requested that it reevaluate its recommendation to the President about two of the three newly sworn-in members of the Electoral Commission of Ghana (EC).
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) is deeply ingrained in Dr. Peter Appiahene and Hajia Salima Ahmed Tijani, according to the NDC, who claims they cannot ensure the neutrality and impartiality of Ghana’s electoral management body.
The National Chairman of the NDC, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, said on Monday, April 17, “For any election to be accepted as credible, free, fair and transparent, every process must be accepted by key stakeholders, not least political parties such as ours, as credible and transparent.”
“To accomplish this, principal actors, including members of the electoral management body, must not only be neutral and impartial, but must also be perceived to be neutral and impartial in order to carry all parties along.”
Mr Asiedu Nketia, on the other hand, did not mince words when he stated that “it is demonstrably clear that the positions and roles of these [two] appointees within the NPP compromise their capacity to act with any form of neutrality.”
The NDC stated that Dr Appiahene, a lecturer at the University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR), has been a patron of the NPP student wing since 2017 at the same university and was even a member of the NPP’s 2020 National Research and Data Analysis Team.
“We believe that appointing someone with such overwhelmingly partisan credentials to the Electoral Commission will undermine public trust in the constitutionally independent body and undermine the conduct of free, fair, and transparent elections in Ghana.”
The NDC stated that Hajia Salima Ahmed Tijani’s immediate family is strongly embedded in the ruling party, aside from being an activist herself.
“It goes without saying that Hajia Salima clearly and perceptibly bears partisan coloration, which clearly vitiates any hopes of neutrality and impartiality required of an Elctioral Commission member.”
As a result, the NDC is requesting that the Council withdraw its advice in order to avoid being perceived as complicit in the appointment of “these patently partisan individuals to the Electoral Commission and to safeguard the integrity of the Council in terms of its role in the structure of our governance architecture.”
On Monday, March 20 at the Jubilee House, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo swore in three new members, the third being Reverend Akua Ofori Boateng, and warned that their decisions will be scrutinized like never before.
“However, don’t let that scare you, and don’t let anyone try to cow you into submission,” the President encouraged.
“On the contrary, let the Ghanaian people’s expectation propel you to great heights, and above all, ensure that the Ghanaian people’s will is upheld.”
Mr. Asiedu Nketia’s letter was copied to the European Union Observer Team, the African Union Observer Team, the Christian Council of Ghana, the Electoral Commission, the US Ambassador to Ghana, the British High Commissioner, the Ambassador of the Netherlands, and the German Ambassador, among others.
Original Story on: 3NEWS