Special Aide to President-elect John Dramani Mahama, Joyce Bawah Mogtari, has expressed the need for an amendment to the regulation that appoints the referee that manages Ghana’s elections.
She says the process for appointing a Chairperson for the Electoral Commission (EC) must be totally overhauled.
The private legal practitioner wants the position to be advertised for persons to apply and scrutinised by Parliament to ensure transparency and competence over whom to be selected to occupy the position.
She indicates that this process will enhance efficiency of the Commission and ameliorate the perceived partisan biases usually associated with the office.
Highlighting some of the issues that characterised the December 07, 2024 elections in a post on her X Saturday, December 14, 2024, Madam Mogtari said the ineptitude witnessed from the EC during the elections is enough grounds for the position to be advertised.
She stated that among the key concerns raised by a number of Ghanaians in the just ended elections was lack of impartiality that undermined the credibility of the EC.
“The appointment process needs reform. The level of ineptitude we witnessed during this year’s elections is largely due to partisans being appointed to such a critical institution,” she stated.
Delays in result collation, disputes over declared outcomes, and allegations of misconduct amongst others were part of the issues which tainted the polls, basing on them as reasons for an amendment in the appointment of the Chair.
She argued that such deficiencies could have been avoided if the EC Chair was appointed on merit instead of partisanship.
“Our democracy demands that the EC operates as a truly independent body, free from the influence of partisan interests,” she added.
𝐄𝐂 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐕𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐝 by 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭- 𝐉𝐨𝐲𝐜𝐞 𝐁𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐡
Joyce Bawah Mogtari, special aide to President-elect John Dramani Mahama, has called for the position of the Chair person of the Electoral…
— Joyce Bawah Mogtari (@joyce_bawah) December 14, 2024
