The Tertiary Education Institution Network (TEIN), student wing of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has called on President Akufo-Addo to initiate processes to revoke the appointments of the new Electoral Commissioners especially Dr Peter Appiahene.
According to TEIN, the appointments of these persons does not augur well for the credibility of the Electoral Commission.
A statement issued and signed by Deputy National TEIN Coordinator, Ekow Djan, stated that Dr. Bossman Asare and Dr. Peter Appiahene, who until their appointments, served as Patrons for the University of Ghana and the University of Energy and Natural Resources branches of of the Tertiary Students Confederacy (TESCON) respectively.
The Network revealed that patrons of TESCON, a student wing of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), are politically exposed persons who do not qualify to hold any position in the Independent Electoral Commission of Ghana as enshrined in the 1992 of Constitution of Ghana.
“TEIN therefore asks President Akufo-Addo to get rid of Dr. Bossman Asare and Dr. Appiahene within two weeks. We have begun talks with the Ghana Police Service as we prepare for a nationwide protest over their appointments. We are aware this is a calculated attempt to rig the 2024 elections. As a patriotic group, we will fight this ploy with our last drop of blood.”
Tertiary Education Institution Network
Meanwhile, the Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO) has called for the immediate resignation of Dr Peter Appiahene and Hajia Salima Ahmed Tijani from the Electoral Commission.
A leading member of CODEO, Rev. Dr Fred Degbey, called for Dr Appiahene and Hajia Salima Tijani to resign to protect the cross-party trust in the commission. He stated that CODEO IS painfully aware that “voluntary and constitutionally grounded revocation of these unfortunate and democratically problematic EC appointments by the President is extremely unlikely”. However, he noted that nothing stops the affected appointees, namely Dr Peter Appiahene and Hajia Salima Tijani from voluntarily and honorably resigning from the EC.
Stakeholders demand resignation of EC Board
In a similar light, three civil society organizations (CSOs) have called for the resignation of two of the three persons recently appointed by the President to the Electoral Commission (EC) as a result of their perceived affiliation to the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP).
They revealed that the two persons Dr Peter Appiahene and Hajia Salima Ahmed Tijani, must do the honourable thing by immediately resigning from the EC in order to repose trust in the commission and ensure its credibility and the organization of elections in the country.
The CSOs, which made the call are the Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO), the Star-Ghana Foundation and the Civic Forum Initiative (CFI)
Prior to this, Member of Parliament for the Buem constituency and the former National Organizer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Kofi Adams, slammed President Akufo-Addo for appointing a known member of the NPP onto the board of the Electoral Commission.
He reckoned that President Akufo-Addo is the only President in the history of Ghana to denigrate the office of the Electoral Commission by appointing known party apparatchiks to the office. He stated that while previous Presidents worked to protect and ensure the sanctity of the office, Akufo-Addo has politicized it and flooded its corridors with NPP faithful.
Furthermore, former President John Dramani Mahama also called for the amendment of Article 43(2) of the 1992 constitution to give way for parliamentary approval following the appointments of known party activists of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) to the Electoral Commission’s board.
It will be recalled that President Akufo-Addo in line with Article 43 (1 and 2) of the 1992 Constitution swore in three new members of the EC governing board on Monday, March 20, 2023. The three included Rev. Akua Ofori Boateng Salima, Ahmed Tijani, and Dr. Peter Appiahene.
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