Attempt by the Royal Institute of International Affairs in the United Kingdom (UK) to include the Chairperson of Ghana’s Electoral Commission (EC), Mrs. Charlotte Osei, for the prestigious Chatham House Prize award has incurred the wrath of pressure group, Alliance for Accountable Governance (AFAG).
On April 3, 2017, Chatham House London published on its website nominees for its 2017 Chatham House Prize to be awarded by the Royal Institute of International Affairs of the UK.
The winner is expected to be announced at a ceremony in autumn this year. The EC boss was mentioned as one of the nominees for the award.
However, at a press conference organised by AFAG in Accra yesterday, Vice Chairman of AFAG, Mr. Henry Asante, expressed strong reservations about the nomination of Mrs. Osei for the 2017 prize
He described as “life threatening” reasons cited by Chatham House to include Mrs. Osei for the award.
Mr. Asante mentioned fourteen (14) reasons why the EC boss was “unfit” for the 2017 Chatham House Prize, stressing that the nomination of the EC boss for the prestigious award was unacceptable.
According to him, the electoral processes leading to the 2016 general elections was burdened with a series of courts cases, anxiety and demonstrations which nearly plunged the country into chaos.
A letter addressed to the President of Royal Institute of International Affairs has justified why Mrs. Osei does not deserve to be nominated for the award.
AFAG said the successful outcome of the 2016 presidential and parliamentary elections was largely the contribution of “peace-loving Ghanaians and must not be credited to the chairperson of the Commission.”
The group pointed out that Mrs. Osei might have made history by announcing the results of the presidential elections on December 9, 2017, but stressed that the many issues surrounding her administration could have occasioned unfortunate and regrettable occurrences.
She fought and misrepresented many meaningful suggestions towards the peaceful elections, which caused major embarrassment for her outfit, AFAG pointed out..
According to AFAG, the peaceful outcome of the 2016 general elections was the collective effort and tolerance the political parties had for each another and the goodwill that Ghanaians have enjoyed since the birth of the 4th Republic in 1992.
“It is time to ignore and punish public officials who act with complete disdain and disregard court rulings, but turn round hypocritically and opportunistically to seek for honours they have not earned,” the group stressed.
