Former President John Mahama has launched fresh attacks on Ghana’s Electoral Commission chaired by Jean Mensa accusing the Electoral body of not inspiring confidence.
According to the former President, who is lacing his boots to contest a presidential position of the NDC for the third time, the Electoral Commission is doing the bid of the ruling New Patriotic Party.
He emphatically stated that “The hostility of the Chairperson of the EC and her other Commissioners to one political party is legendary”.
Interestingly, Mr. Mahama whose party (NDC) has on several occasions boycotted IPAC meetings stated that “Regrettably, I am not hopeful this will happen when we have an EC that has blatantly spurned all efforts by the National Peace Council to host a meeting between the Commission and the two major political parties, the NDC and NPP.”
Mr. Mahama, who is currently in Nigeria leading the West African Elders Forum (WAEF) to monitor the ongoing elections made these claims in a post on his Facebook page about Nigeria’s elections.
He pointed out that his preliminary engagements with the presidential hopefuls indicated that they all have confidence in the Electoral Commissioner of that country but the same cannot be said about Ghana’s Electoral Commission.
He claimed “One thing that has struck me in my pre-election mission in Nigeria for the West African Elders Forum (WAEF) is the confidence all the candidates and parties have expressed in the Independent Electoral Commission. They all testify that INEC has listened and taken their concerns on board.”
According to him, the INEC’s openness and ability to bring all the candidates on board but said it is unfortunate that “I can’t say the same for my Electoral Commission (EC), which was once among the best election management agencies in the world.”
Mr. Mahama further intimated that he wished Ghana’s EC “can inspire the same level of confidence in all its stakeholders.”
Below is the full statement on Facebook:
One thing that has struck me in my pre-election mission in Nigeria for the West African Elders Forum (WAEF) is the confidence all the candidates and parties have expressed in the Independent Electoral Commission.
They all testify that INEC has listened and taken their concerns on board.
Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for my Electoral Commission (EC), which was once among the best election management agencies in the world.
The hostility of the Chairperson of the EC and her other Commissioners to one political party is legendary.
How I wish our own EC can inspire the same level of confidence in all its stakeholders.
Regrettably, I am not hopeful this will happen when we have an EC that has blatantly spurned all efforts by the National Peace Council to host a meeting between the Commission and the two major political parties, the NDC and NPP.
-BY Daniel Bampoe