Political scientist Dr John Osae-Kwapong has challenged the persistent suspicion surrounding Ghana’s Electoral Commission (EC), arguing that presidential appointments to the election management body cannot guarantee electoral victory for the appointing party.
In an exclusive interview with The Vaultz News on President Mahama’s appointment of new EC deputy chairpersons, the CDD-Ghana Fellow and Director of the Democracy Project urged the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) and opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) to reconsider their perceptions of the commission’s influence on election outcomes.
Dr Osae-Kwapong cited the 2016 and 2024 general elections as examples of how electoral outcomes have contradicted partisan suspicions about the EC’s leadership, despite repeated accusations and concerns from both major political parties.
“Since 1992, Evans, you and I know that we’ve done a lot of reforms in our electoral processes to strengthen the integrity of our elections. And yet, our two main political parties continue to have very deep suspicions of the Electoral Commission.”
Dr John Osae-Kwapong, Political Scientist, CDD-Ghana Fellow, and Director of the Democracy Project
2016 and 2024 Elections Challenge Partisan Suspicions
Dr Osae-Kwapong argued that Ghana’s electoral history raises questions about the assumption that the President who appoints the EC’s leadership can influence the outcome in favour of his political party.
He pointed to the 2016 general election, ahead of which President John Dramani Mahama appointed Charlotte Osei as EC chairperson. At the time, the NPP strongly suspected that the appointment was intended to help President Mahama secure re-election.
However, President Mahama lost the election, and the EC declared then opposition leader Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo president-elect. Dr Osae-Kwapong contrasted that outcome with the 2024 election, when the NDC repeatedly criticised the EC under chairperson Jean Mensa and raised concerns about the commission’s conduct.
“Fast forward to 2024, we saw all the banter between the NDC as a party and the EC, and all their angst about Madam Jean Mensah, and yet they won the election and Madam Jean Mensa declared President Mahama the president-elect”.
Dr John Osae-Kwapong, Political Scientist, CDD-Ghana Fellow, and Director of the Democracy Project
According to the political scientist, the two election cycles illustrate why political parties should not automatically equate presidential appointments to the commission with electoral advantage.
Political Parties Urged to Reconsider Distrust
Dr Osae-Kwapong questioned why the NDC and NPP continue to express deep suspicion of the EC despite reforms introduced since 1992 to strengthen the integrity of Ghana’s electoral processes.
He argued that the evidence from the elections he cited does not support the claim that the party that appoints the commission’s leadership will necessarily win the next election. “I don’t know what else needs to be done for them to start moving away from this deep suspicion because the evidence doesn’t really back that,” he remarked.
He nevertheless acknowledged the possibility that political parties might be relying on information that is not publicly known, which could explain their continued distrust. “Unless they know something that the rest of us don’t know, which is why it continues to drive their deep suspicion,” he added.
Beyond that caveat, Dr Osae-Kwapong maintained that the outcomes of the 2016 and 2024 elections provide grounds for questioning partisan assumptions about the power of EC appointments to determine electoral victory.
EC Leadership Cannot Single-Handedly Determine Results
The political scientist also challenged concerns that an EC chairperson or deputy chairperson could independently declare an election in favour of a preferred political party, particularly when the contest is close.
He recounted a recent television discussion in which an NPP Member of Parliament expressed concern that Emelia Afi Agbenyo could declare an election in favour of the NDC.
Dr Osae-Kwapong rejected the suggestion that an individual commissioner could simply disregard votes cast by Ghanaians and unilaterally determine the outcome, pointing to the role of election monitoring and polling-station result records.
“I honestly don’t believe that if Ghanaians have gone out and cast their votes, I mean, the media monitors, we are getting copies of pink sheets, all of those things, that an EC chair or a deputy EC chair can single-handedly say that, you know what, I don’t like the results and therefore I’m going to call it for my political party. I don’t think that would happen”.
Dr John Osae-Kwapong, Political Scientist, CDD-Ghana Fellow, and Director of the Democracy Project
His argument emphasises the importance of examining the wider electoral process, including the documentation of polling-station results and monitoring by the media, rather than assuming that the commission’s leadership can independently dictate the outcome.
Mahama’s Appointments Renew Debate Over Electoral Trust
President Mahama’s appointment of new EC deputy chairpersons has brought renewed attention to questions about the commission’s independence and credibility.
Dr Osae-Kwapong’s comments place the debate within a broader pattern of mistrust between Ghana’s two main political parties and the institution responsible for managing national elections.
His central argument is that the experiences of 2016 and 2024 challenge the belief that appointments to the Electoral Commission can guarantee victory for the appointing party.
For the NDC and NPP, the issue remains how to address their concerns about the commission while accounting for electoral outcomes that have not consistently matched their earlier suspicions.
Dr Osae-Kwapong’s position is that political parties should assess such concerns against the available evidence rather than assume that the appointment of an EC chairperson or deputy chairperson determines who wins an election.
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