New EC chair: NPP scheming to rig 2020 polls – A.B.A Fuseini

The Minority in Parliament have accused the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government of making moves to influence the 2020 presidential and parliamentary polls in their favour by appointing individuals with links to the NPP to manage the Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana.

President Nana Akufo-Addo has named Mrs Jean Mensa, Executive Director of the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) as the new Chair of the Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana.

The newly-appointed deputies are a political science lecturer at the University of Ghana, Dr Eric Asare Bossman; Ms Adjoa Esuama Abrefa, a corporate legal practitioner with specialisation in land property acquisition, and Samuel Tettey, Director of Electoral services in charge of elections at the Electoral Commission.

Commenting on the development, the Minority Spokesperson on Communications, A.B.A. Fuseini, told Class FM's Parliamentary correspondent Ekow Annan that: “We have no doubt in our minds that the NPP is in an attempt to pack the Electoral Commission in order to steal the verdict of 2020 because they are so hopelessly uninspiring and many Ghanaians are ready to boot them out”.

He said the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) “had problems with the IEA (Institute of Economic Affairs) at some point in time and had to boycott the IEA under her patronage, so we have issues with this, regarding the credentials of Ms Mensa.”

“Even Bossman, they have made statements to the effect that they are sympathetic to the NPP and there is no doubt about that,” he added.

The Member of Parliament (MP) for Sagnarigu constituency further accused the government of hastening “to bundle the Commissioners out and then go ahead and immediately appoint people of their liking to those positions”.