Source: Onuaonline.com
The Member of Parliament for Juaboso, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, has launched a scathing critique of the Electoral Commission (EC), accusing it of undermining Ghana’s democracy which can plunge the country into electoral chaos.
Addressing the media in Juaboso Tuesday, November 19, 2024, Mr. Akandoh claimed that the EC has abandoned its constitutional duty of neutrality and is instead acting as an extension of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) campaign machinery.
He made these averments following the sudden transfer of the Juaboso District Electoral Officer and the alleged appointment of party members as EC polling officers just a month before the elections.
Also, the Juaboso MP accuses EC of massing district office with party members, demanding publication of photographs of polling officers.
In a brief media engagement at Juaboso, the Member of Parliament for the constituency, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, alleged that the replacement of the District Electoral Officer by an appointee tied to the Deputy Chairperson of the EC, Dr. Eric Bossman Asare, was part of a broader strategy to rig the elections in favor of the NPP.
He claimed the newly appointed polling officers are openly partisan, with some publicly endorsing Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the NPP’s presidential candidate, and the NPP parliamentary candidate for Juaboso.
The Member of Parliament highlighted several violations of Constitutional Instrument 127 (C.I. 127), which governs the conduct of elections.
Regulation 19(6) (a&b) mandates the publication of names and photographs of presiding officers and polling assistants at district offices and their distribution to political parties at least 10 days before the election.
However, Mr.Akandoh noted that the EC’s published list for Juaboso lacks the required photographs of polling officers and the 159 officers on the list do not have telephone numbers, while some numbers are duplicated, raising questions about the authenticity of the data.
To address these concerns, Akandoh has submitted a formal petition to the District Electoral Commission, demanding immediate action.
In Akandoh’s address at the press conference, he stated that “no amount of rigging, no number of planted polling offices and no manipulation by the EC can save them from the inevitable defeat that awaits them.”
He also demanded that the EC to do the needful and publish the details of its polling officers as stated in the Constitutional Instrument (CI).
“The people of Ghana have had enough and they are ready to deliver a resounding judgment at the polls. One, publication and updated list of polling officers which include photographs in compliance with the CI-127. Immediate removal of openly partisan NPP polling officers whose affiliations compromise their neutrality,” he stated.
Source: www.onuaonline.com
