The National Chairman of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), Hon. Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, has issued a scathing indictment of the current leadership of Ghana’s Electoral Commission (EC), calling for a total overhaul of its top hierarchy.
According to him, the present composition of the Commission, led by Chairperson Jean Adukwei Mensa, has proven unfit for purpose and must be reset to restore credibility to Ghana’s electoral processes.
Speaking on the unresolved parliamentary situation in the Ablekuma North constituency following the December 7 2024, general elections, Hon. Asiedu Nketiah did not mince words in attributing the impasse to the failings of what he described as a “wrong election management body.“
According to him, the inability of the EC to declare a valid outcome in the Ablekuma North parliamentary contest—months after the polls—reflects a fundamental dysfunction in the electoral system.
He argued that no serious election, conducted under the appropriate legal and operational framework, should end in a stalemate, as Ghanaian electoral laws make no provision for such an outcome.
“We are having the wrong election management body in place. So that is a subject of reset in the future. Resetting the EC means bringing it back into an institution that is fit for purpose. The way it is existing now, it is not fit for purpose.”
National Chairman of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), Hon. Johnson Asiedu Nketiah
Negligence of Duty
He accused the EC of either negligence or an outright inability to perform its constitutional functions, noting that such systemic lapses are a compelling justification for leadership change.
Citing examples to back his call, Hon. Asiedu Nketiah pointed to the disenfranchisement of the people of Santrokofi, Akpafu, Likpe, and Lolobi (SALL) during the 2020 parliamentary elections.
The affected citizens went unrepresented in Parliament for an entire four-year legislative cycle—an unprecedented development, he said remains a major scar on the credibility of the Jean Mensa-led Electoral Commission.
He added that the current EC leadership has consistently failed to deliver any election that meets public expectations of transparency and competence.
From the SALL debacle in 2020 to the flawed processes surrounding the December 2024 elections, and earlier, the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election in 2019, Hon. Asiedu Nketiah said the signs are clear that Ghana’s democratic institutions are being compromised under the watch of the current EC bosses.
“The Ayawaso 2019 by-election was contaminated with a lot of flaws. Everything has been a mess under their leadership. There is overwhelming evidence that this commission is not fit for purpose”.
National Chairman of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), Hon. Johnson Asiedu Nketiah
Total Overhaul
In a bold and unequivocal conclusion, the veteran politician called for the removal of the entire top echelon of the Electoral Commission.
“There must be a change at the EC leadership. I think the three top leadership must all go,” he declared. These, he specified, include EC Chairperson Jean Adukwei Mensa and her two deputies, Dr. Bossman Asare and Samuel Tetteh.
His comments reflect long-standing tensions between political actors and the electoral body, particularly following elections marred by disputes, legal challenges, and public mistrust.
Critics of the current EC leadership, including the NDC, have long accused Jean Mensa and her deputies of bias, poor judgment, and operational lapses that have undermined trust in Ghana’s elections.
On the other hand, the Commission argue that it has operated within the limits of the law and has successfully delivered two general elections despite logistical and political pressures.
Nonetheless, Hon. Asiedu Nketiah’s demand for their resignation is the most direct and forceful from a high-ranking ruling government official since the EC began operating under its current leadership in 2018.
It highlights how profoundly public and political concerns about election management have grown, and how they may influence institutional reform as well as public opinion in the coming months.
It’s unclear if the call will lead to official action, but one thing is certain: Ghana’s Electoral Commission’s future is now squarely in the national spotlight.
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