President Akufo-Addo has said that the new Chairperson of the Electoral Commission must be transparent and non-partisan.
He said the public must participate in the process to find the new EC boss.
The public participation, he says, is necessary to ensure that independent individuals are appointed to the office.
“I pray we all work together as Ghanaians to find somebody who will be transparent to work for the Electoral Commission. Let’s find someone who will work neither for the NDC or the NPP, but for Ghana,” Akufo-Addo said.
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Addressing the Ghanaian community in Mauritius on Sunday, Nana Akufo-Addo explained that the dismissal of Charlotte Osei and her two deputies, Amadu Sulley and Georgina Opoku Amakwah was not politically motivated as some have suggested.
The President 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.
Charlotte Osei breached procurement laws in the award of contracts – Committee
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.
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Excerpts of the report released by the 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.
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.
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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.