Johnson Asiedu Nketia, Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has called for the immediate removal of the Electoral Commission’s leadership, accusing it of systemic mismanagement and undermining public confidence in the country’s democratic processes.
In a sharp critique delivered Wednesday during an appearance on JoyNews’ PM Express, Mr. Nketia said the top leadership of the Electoral Commission, led by Chairperson Jean Mensa, had failed in its core mandate of ensuring credible and transparent elections.
“There has to be a change,” he said. “The three top leaders must all go. They have managed the commission so badly.”
Mr. Nketia pointed to a string of disputed and unresolved electoral outcomes, which he said reflect a broader institutional failure. Chief among them is the lingering uncertainty over the outcome of the parliamentary election in the Ablekuma North constituency, where six months after voters cast their ballots, no winner has been declared.
“You cannot still be having an election that will go into a stalemate,” Mr. Nketia said. “There is no anticipation of any stalemate in our laws unless people don’t want to do their work well. It’s a clear case of negligence or inability to perform.”
The NDC leader also cited the disenfranchisement of voters in the SALL (Santrokofi, Akpafu, Likpe, and Lolobi) area during the 2020 general election—where no parliamentary representative was elected—as emblematic of what he described as the EC’s chronic mismanagement.
“This commission, as presently constituted, took over the reins and has never conducted a satisfactory election,” he said. “SALL was first. A whole constituency went unrepresented for four years. Now, Ablekuma North. And the Ayawaso West by-election? Everything has been messed up.”
Mr. Nketia said the situation calls for a comprehensive overhaul of the Electoral Commission to restore its institutional credibility. “Resetting the EC means bringing it back to an institution that is fit for purpose,” he said. “The way it is existing now, it is not fit for purpose.”
He warned that the continued tenure of the current leadership could damage Ghana’s international reputation as a model of electoral democracy in West Africa.
“If in any serious country we want to maintain this type of Electoral Commission, then I don’t know what the country is about,” he said.
Source:TheDotNews