Scrapping Political parties: EC used discretion not law – Odike

The founder of the United Front Party (UFP), Akwasi Addae Odike, has accused the elections management body, the Electoral Commission, of selective application of the law governing the establishment and maintenance of political parties in the country.

The politician who has had his political party's licence to operate revoked by the EC says the EC used its discretion in the application of the law.

According to him, the EC was selective in the application of the political party’s law Act 574.

He said the EC set out to victimise some parties that were sceptical about the activities of the chairperson of the commission, Jean Mensa.

"If you want to use the law, use it across the board but why qualify others and ban others?" he argued.

He challenged the EC to produce an audit report that stated the affected parties have no functional offices and those qualified have.

He alleged that the EC qualified some parties that were allies of the sitting president Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

Furthermore, he alleged that these parties were the same parties that the EC had been using at the Inter-Party Committee (IPAC) meetings to bulldoze its way through when decisions are taken at the committee level.

Mr Odike made these accusations while reacting to the EC’s decision to revoke the license of his political party in an interview with Nana Otu Darko, the sit-in host of the Ghana Yensom morning show on Tuesday, November 15, 2022.

He said he is saddened by the current state of affairs at the EC.

He revealed that he took the pains to write to the EC indicating the existence of the party’s functional offices yet the EC went ahead to revoke his licence without recourse to the said letter.

He added that the matter was with his lawyers who are preparing the briefs.

"They [EC] will meet us in court," he warned