Current state of EC is a threat to Ghana’s democracy – Otokunor

Former Deputy General Secretary of the opposition NDC, Peter Otokunor says the Electoral Commission (EC), under Commissioner Jean Mensa, is a threat to the country’s security.

In an interview on Ideas Exchange on TV XYZ, the politician narrated that there have been about four national security reports that suggest that the EC, in its current form, could plunge the country into chaos.

“The very first one was in 2020. A national security report suggested that the threat to our security; the most significant threat to our security was the Electoral Commission,” he told host Eric Ahianyo and explained that the controversies surrounding the 2020 elections and how the EC Boss failed to collate accurate figures was problematic.

He recounted how the National Security Minister, reacting to the report, invited the EC and the various political parties into a meeting to settle the “impasse” between the electoral management body and some aggrieved political parties.

He also said the events that prompted the NDC to send the outcome of the elections to the Supreme Court signify that the EC Boss is toying with the democracy of the country.

Otokunor, whose party has decided to boycott the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) following the outcome of the 2020 elections, described the EC as being corrupted by government elements to favour the governing NPP.

He said the EC Boss sometimes neglect suggestions of various parties because “the government [of Nana Akufo-Addo] has corrupted that institution,” and added that the EC Boss lacks credibility which is dangerous to the country’s safety as Ghana heads to polls next year.

The concerns of Otokunor and other civil society organisations come on the back of the EC’s decision to organise a limited voter registration exercise at its district offices only unlike various polling stations across the country as has been the case for many years.