Charlotte Osei
A PRESSURE GROUP, Alliance for Accountable Governance (AFAG), has called for the prosecution of the sacked Electoral Commission’s Chairperson, Charlotte Osei and her two deputies, Georgina Opoku-Amankwa and Amadu Sulley, if the allegations of corruption against them are established by the committee set up by the Chief Justice.
According to AFAG, all persons implicated in any act of corruption must face the law; this will serve as a deterrent to other public office holders.
President Akufo-Addo on Thursday, June 28, dismissed Mrs. Osei, Mr. Sulley and Madam Opoku-Amankwa, from their posts at the Electoral Commission (EC), asking them to hand over their respective schedules to the Director for Human Resource and General Services of the EC.
Their dismissals came after a committee established by the Chief Justice (CJ), Sophia A.B. Akuffo, to investigate allegations of misconduct and incompetence at the EC, found the three individuals guilty.
The decision had attracted heated political debate and just when supporters and executives of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) were gearing up to hit the streets on Friday morning, June 29, to protest the dismissal of the EC bosses, news broke about the sudden demise of the former Vice President, Paa Kwesi Amissah Arthur, which left the party with no option but to forcibly call off the protest.
Prior to the 2016 general elections, AFAG questioned the credibility of the affected EC bosses and said the decision to sack Mrs. Osei, who was appointed by ex-President Mahama, Mr. Sulley and Madam Opoku-Amankwa, was long overdue.
Commending President Akufo-Addo for boldly sacking the three officials, AFAG, in a statement signed by its leadership, said “this move has been our long-standing call as a result of our position against corrupt public office holders.”
‘Godly’ Investigations
According to AFAG’s statement, “although the electoral commissioner’s posturing before, during and immediately after the elections were questionable, we consider the events leading to this investigation as God-given.”
It said “indeed, the accusation and counter-accusations among the commissioners showed that all wasn’t well with the commission regarding teamwork, decision-making and financial management.”
Rule of Law Upheld
“It is in this regard that AFAG welcomes the recommendation of the court’s committee and the decision to sack by the President. The rule of law has been upheld without considerations to who is before the judge.”
‘Release Full Report’
Meanwhile, AFAG has urged government to “make public the full report of the Chief Justice’s investigation as a matter of transparency, to give confidence in the wisdom of the President’s decision to fire, and above all to establish the basis of the sack.”
It said “if indeed there is a basis to sack based on financial irregularities as we were made to know by the deputy EC commissioners, then we will want the courts to justify or otherwise make a declaration in this regard.”
BY Melvin Tarlue