University of Ghana’s Prof. Ransford Gyampo has lambasted President Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for purportedly demanding senior management of the Electoral Commission (EC) to submit their CVs to the presidency.
Although the circular from the EC to the regional directors said the directive affects other state agencies, Prof. Gyampo was particularly worried over that of the election management body.
According to him, the sensitive nature of the EC and its autonomy makes it problematic for the president to make such request as it could be interpreted by the public differently.
Even more worrying with the circular, per the Professor’s opinion, is its failure to state what accounted for such request from persons who are already employed.
Prof. Gyampo noted unequivocally that, “the history of Ghana’s Fourth Republic show that you are currently the worse President in promoting the sanctity of the independence of the Electoral Commission.”
“Why do you want to do this to an Independent Commission? It appears under your tenure, you are doing everything you can to decimate the independence of all independent institutions, but to what end?”
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The lack of courageous people to call the President to order according to Prof. Gyampo is the reason President Akufo-Addo’s excesses have gone unchecked.
“Unfortunately, there aren’t courageous people around you to tell you to back off your attempts at annexing the Electoral Commission. Back in the days, Dan Botwe as General Secretary of the NPP could boldly tell President Kufuor in the face to back off his attempt to usurp the procurement powers of the Electoral Commission and the President had no choice than to listen.”
He has therefore called on the President to leave office without encroaching other state agencies and counseled the EC also not to kotow to the whims and caprices of the government.
“Please leave office and leave the sanctity of our independent institutions intact. This is not a practice worth emulating or repeating, Sir. This demand is unnecessary and it’s optics for the quest to deal with the independence deficit of the Electoral Commission are bad,” he said.
“But the Electoral Commission too must not be seen to be swallowing everything thrown to them by the President hook, line and sinker. As an independent Commission, it is backed by law to resist every attempt at subjugating the Commission under the Executive President,” he concluded.
