You can’t celebrate 'success' of election 2020 when your officials haven’t been paid – EC Chair told

• Some officials recruited by the Electoral Commission during the December 7 elections have still not been paid

• Dr Bossman Asare, has stated that some out of the over 236,000 officials recruited for the 2020 elections, 46,000 have so far been paid

• Ghana went to the polls on December 7, 2021, but attempts by presiding officers and others to get their remuneration have proved futile

The Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Jean Mensa, has come under attack over the delay in payment of some officials recruited for Ghana’s presidential and parliamentary elections in December 2020.

Although some officials which include presiding officers, verification officers, name list reference officers, COVID ambassadors and ballot issuers have confirmed receiving payment for their service, there are more others who are yet to be paid after 5 months of working for the Electoral Commission.

In a recent tweet sighted by GhanaWeb, the Commission called for the celebration of the “success” chalked during the December 7 election.

However, some aggrieved officials claim that there is no cause for celebrations especially in a time where they haven’t been paid months after their service.

The EC Chairperson speaking at the IPAC Workshop to review the 2020 General Elections said: “Let us celebrate our successes of the 2020 Elections and document them; for there is so much knowledge, good experiences and best practice residing in the Electoral Commission of Ghana”.

Reacting to the post, a Twitter user, Ato Kwamena wrote: “Pay the people who stayed up late working for you #FixTheCountryNow #FixTheCountry #FixMotherGhanaNow”

Theophilus Akuaku added: “Your Celebration of success will not be completed without the payment of your ad hoc staff what is due them”

Another, Kofi Annor wrote: “It's funny how the electoral commission keeps praising itself but refuses to pay us our money”.

In an earlier report by GhanaWeb on May 4, 2021, the Deputy Chairperson of the Electoral Commission in charge of Corporate Services, Dr Bossman Asare, stated that out of the over 236,000 officials who were recruited for the 2020 elections, 46,000 had so far been paid.

Dr Bossman Asare called on affected officials to give the Commission more time as plans are underway to settle the delayed payment.

“We have sent them letters asking that they give us some time. Plans are underway, we will take a look at our payment method. Previously, there were some challenges and we demanded the bank accounts of officials. We are even considering Mobile Money payment,” said Dr Bossman Asare in an interview on Peace FM’s “Kokrokoo”.

Below are some reactions from Twitter: