My case in court not seeking injunction on appointment on new EC - Kweku Baako

Ace Journalist, Abdul Malik Kweku Baako, has indicated that his petition to challenge the removal former Electoral Commissioner Charlotte Osei from her duties is not to prevent President Akufo-Addo from appointing a new EC but to ensure that the transition is done appropriately.

According to him, his argument is not to lay much emphasis on the appointment although he stressed that appointees must be qualified according to the constitution.

He subsequently warned that the seemingly hasty appointment of EC members and Chairpersons by heads of states, although not something new, must be put to a stop else it may lead to further protests which usually yield positive results through reforms of the laws governing the EC.

“As for the appointment of EC members and Chairperson we’ve lived with that for a long time. It’s about time we stop. From 1992 when the appointment of the INEC members came in, we protested then because of the nature of the transition.” Kweku Baako said on Joy News File.

Citing some measures taken when tensions rose after the 1992 elections, he said “things began to improve in terms of the electoral reforms we agitated for, so, the appointment per say was no longer the case in the sense that now we have transparent ballot boxes. We had photo ID cards. It began in a progressive manner. Party agents were trained. Credible register. And so, when these things come on board –and don’t forget it’s the same thing with the election petition though the petitioners lost, it triggered some levels of electoral reforms.”

The outspoken journalist, therefore, suggested that the appointment processes of the electoral body must be restructured due to the partisan nature of the EC since it goes a long way in avoiding unnecessary rigidities.

"So, nothing stops the president and my case for instance, we are not seeking any injunction. We are seeking an injunction to restrain the president from appointing…no we are not…that’s not part of our reliefs,” Baako told panelists on the show.

He added, “I’m still for that. I’m not saying it is constitutionally prescribed per say. That’s not what I’m saying but you see because of the political nature of the EC. The work it does. Sometimes we build a consensus. You aggregate a certain national consensus relative to the appointment process. It does help.”