President refers Electoral Commission to Chief Justice

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has referred a petition purporting to invoke Article 146(3) of the Constitution, in respect of the office of the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Mrs. Charlotte Osei, to the Chief Justice, Justice Sophia Akuffo.

A statement from the Director of Communication at the Office of the Presidency, Eugene Arhin, yesterday said the President’s action was in line with the directive spelled out in Article 146 of the 1992 Constitution.

According to the statement, “whilst the President was out of the country, the office of the President received a petition, initially undated and unsigned, against the Chairperson of the EC.

Subsequently, counsel, Maxwell Opoku Agyemang, Esq., by a letter dated 20th July, 2017, wrote to the office of the President setting out the names of the petitioners and the date of the petition.

“…pursuant to the terms of Article 146(3), President Akufo-Addo has, thus, referred the petition to the Chief Justice for resolution, in accordance with the provisions of Article 146(3).”

It would be recalled that some workers of the Electoral Commission (EC) last week petitioned the President and the Chief Justice, Ms. Justice Sophia Akuffo, to cause a full-scale investigation into allegations of financial malfeasance and abuse of office levelled against the EC boss.

The petitioners cited breaches of some provisions of the 1992 Constitution by the EC Chairperson regarding her office, conduct, and duties, the six-page petition also called for an impeachment processes to be initiated for her removal from office.

Meanwhile, the Mrs. Charlotte Osei on Friday, July 21, 2017, responded to all the 28 allegations levelled against her by some staff of the commission, describing them as “baseless and unfounded.”