Restore EC’s integrity – MP

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo must as a matter of urgency probe the petition presented to him by some concerned workers at the Electoral Commission (EC) regarding the conduct of Chairperson Mrs Charlotte Osei, Magnus Kofi Amoatey, MP for Yilo Krobo has said.

According to the Member of the Subsidiary Legislation Committee of Parliament, the fight between Mrs Osei and some of her deputies is unfortunate and also weakening the public confidence in the institution, therefore, the matter must be dealt with quickly.

The concerned workers at the EC in their petition stated among other things that: “Following her appointment as EC chair, Mrs. Charlotte compromised the independence and neutrality of the Commission by arranging for 2015 V8 Landcruiser with registration WR 2291-15 from the Office of the President for use as official vehicle without going through the procurement process or recourse to the Commission.”

But responding to this, Mrs. Osei said she did “not use a vehicle with the said registration number WR2291-15. Following her appointment as Chairperson, the Office of the Chief of Staff allocated Mrs. Osei a vehicle. This is certainly not a new practice in Ghana’s public service. Indeed, the office of the Chief of Staff provided and continues to provide vehicles for many government institutions and appointees. The Chairperson could therefore not have compromised her independence or neutrality as she neither requested nor lobbied for the said vehicle. Indeed, this flawed argument would imply that the Commission receiving money from the Government of Ghana compromises the neutrality of the Commission.”

Commenting on this matter in an interview with Chief Jerry Forson, host of Ghana Yensom on Accra 100.5FM on Monday July 24, Mr Amoatey said: “The development at the EC is very unfortunate and we will need to deal with it immediately.”

“If it is true that Mrs Charlotte Osei has conducted herself in a way that implicates her, or is fighting against her deputies, then immediately we need to probe the matter. Originally, I would have thought that the petition must not be given any serious consideration but if it is true that these misunderstandings are ongoing at the EC, then the petition must be probed. We need to restore the credibility of the Electoral Commission, we should preserve our democratic integrity.”

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