It will be politically unwise, tragic to blame Akufo-Addo for removal of EC officers - Hamid

The Minister of Information, Dr Mustapha Hamid has said any attempt to politicize the removal of the EC chairperson and her two deputies will be tragic. He believes individuals engaging in such acts do not have the welfare of Ghana at heart.

The minister was addressing a press conference yesterday [Friday] to detail the reasons that saw the three commissioners removed from office. ‘’It would be tragic for the country, in the face of these facts and circumstances, for anyone to attempt to turn this matter into a party-political affair.

Those who do so do not seek the welfare of the country. It is our hope that Ghana, after these trying events, will end up with electoral body that will uphold the dignity and integrity that is demanded of the office and its servants,’’ he noted.

He said the committee concluded that enough evidence had been established, and, therefore, recommended the removal as the Chairpersons of the EC based on misbehaviour and incompetence. He also indicated that, the committee further recommended that the EC ceased using the services of Messrs Sory@Law as solicitors but that the firm be paid for its legal services rendered.

He rubbished claims that President Akufo-Addo removed the officers for political reasons. ‘’…’’ we need to conclude by reiterating what is obvious – that this removal of the Chairperson of the EC and her two deputies, has nothing to do with the President, his government, the NPP or, indeed, any political party. It is purely an internally generated matter.

‘’The matters that became the subjects of the petitions against the former Electoral Commissioner and her colleagues were the same set of allegations which they themselves threw against one another in the media and in the public space, including Mrs Osei’s allegation that Mr Amadu Sulley misused GHS6m from the political parties and the counter allegation against her that she abused the procurement processes in several contracts. ‘’

‘’What we have seen appears to be high simmering tensions within the Electoral Commission, which resulted in an implosion after the 2016 elections. These are the facts of the matter and these are the very facts that the Constitution of the Republic were applied against.



Remember that the President took an oath to abide by the dictates of the Constitution of Ghana, failing which he pledged to subject himself to penalties arising therefrom. He has done nothing more or less than to uphold the Constitution of the Republic of Ghana,’’ he posited.