Jean Mensa is still in Nigeria; EC debunks claims of disrespect to parliament

The Electoral Commission has stated that its Chairperson Jean Mensa did not disrespect parliament by failing to honour an invitation from the House.

The Commission explained that the Chairperson was not in the country when the invitation was sent, reason she could not appear when she had to.

The EC further added that the invitation also came in late and was not favourable for the EC chair since she is still in Nigeria, where she had already traveled before the invitation.

The response was after the EC failed to appear before Parliament to brief the House on the draft CI on the registration of voters.

The statement on February 26, 2023 stated that “The Commission especially its Chairperson understands the importance of the institution of Parliament having worked with Parliament for two decades prior to her appointment as Chairperson of the EC. The Chairperson upholds the institution of Parliament and will therefore not disrespect it in any way.

“The fact remains that the invitation from Parliament was sent a day before the meeting, at a time when the Chairperson was out of the jurisdiction. Had she been aware of the request prior to her travel, she certainly would have prioritized the meeting and attended upon the Honourable House,” it further noted.

To that effect, the Majority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu stated that Jean Mensa and the Executive Secretary of the National Identification Authority, Kenneth Attafuah, will appear before Parliament on Tuesday, February 28, 2023, to brief the House on the proposed Constitutional Instrument (CI).

“The EC officials had established contact with the Chairperson, who had agreed to come down for us to have the committee of the whole meeting, but she delayed because the Minority MPs were picking up their parliamentary forms. So, on Tuesday, she will appear, and we will continue with the committee for the whole meeting,” he said.



SSD/WA