Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah
Government has urged all discerning Ghanaians to reject attempts by any group or political party to bastardize the Electoral Commission (EC).
Speaking at a news conference in Accra yesterday, the Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, said the government does not accept claims by former President John Mahama that the 2016 presidential election was rigged in favour of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP).
On Monday, May 20, 2019, Mr. Mahama, in an interview with Accra-based radio station Citi FM, observed that the posture of the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission of Ghana (EC) Jean Mensa does not indicate that she would be neutral in the 2020 polls.
The presidential candidate of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) also said Mrs. Mensa has acted in ways that suggest that representatives of the political parties are nuisance to the election management body, a situation he said was unfortunate.
“They need to prove us wrong. We have our doubts that they can be neutral and fair…The current posture and the way they are conducting things makes us doubt that they will be neutral and fair in 2020,” the former president said, adding “the EC is not a secret society. It’s not somebody’s private closet that needs to be shut and we will not know what is going on there … They should open all the process.”
The Information Minister said that anyone who feels aggrieved by the actions or inaction of the EC must go through the court system but not ‘bastardize’ the commission.
He said that any attempt to put the EC in a bad light should be discouraged by discerning Ghanaians.
By Melvin Tarlue