President Akufo-Addo is set to name a replacement for removed Electoral Commission chairperson, Charlotte Osei.
Speaking to Citi News, he said although an exact date cannot be given as to when Akufo-Addo will name the new EC boss, an announcement to that effect will be done soon.
“I can assure you that as quickly as possible the president of the republic will make some announcement as to the replacement. I wouldn’t be able to say if it is going to be a day, two days or a week, but as quickly as possible, the president will make an announcement in this regard,” Eugene Arhin said.
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President Akufo-Addo on Thursday night announced in a statement that he had removed the Electoral Commission chairperson, Charlotte Osei and her two deputies, Amadu Sulley and Georgina Opoku Amankwah following the receipt of a report from a committee set up by the Chief Justice, Justice Sophia Akuffo, pursuant to Article 146(4) of the Constitution, to investigate separate complaints brought against her and her two deputies.
The Committee concluded that Charlotte Osei blatantly breached procurement laws in the award of several contracts in her three-year period at the helm of affairs, prior to the 2016 elections.
Excerpts of the report released by government and made available to Citi News, says the committee investigated six separate allegations of various procurement breaches, for which a prima facie case was established against Madam Charlotte Osei.
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The Committee recommended their removal on the basis of stated misbehavior and incompetence, pursuant to Article 146 (1) of the Constitution.
The provisions of Article 146 (9) of the Constitution require the President to act in accordance with the recommendations of the Committee.
The removal of the three (3) officials come at a time when the country is considering holding elections for MMDCEs and also a possible referendum for the creation of new regions as well as begin preparations for general elections in 2020.
Many have expressed concern that the development may slow down the various expected electoral processes, but a private legal practitioner, Yaw Oppong, believes that the development will not affect the expected referendum on the creation of new regions.
Mr. Oppong argued that the EC has still been functioning nationwide for the past 12 months despite the controversy.
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“…They have been performing the functions in the region and even in Accra, the capital, and political party elections are being organized and supervised by them and I think they have fairly performed their functions to the satisfaction of those concerned.”
“So I think that in the absence of a couple of them having some kind of judicial process, the Electoral Commission is an institution. It is not an embodiment of personalities and the processes can go on smoothly without any problem which would have occurred because they may not be able to perform their functions.”
No name has so far been suggested as a possible replacement for Charlotte Osei, who was Ghana’s first female Electoral Commissioner.