General News of Thursday, 18 June 2020

Source: peacefmonline.com

I feel pity for 'inexperienced' Jean Mensa - NDC MP

Chairperson of the Electoral Commission,  Jean Mensa play videoChairperson of the Electoral Commission, Jean Mensa

Member of Parliament for Banda Constituency, Ahmed Ibrahim says there are reasons to suspect that the Electoral Commission (EC) Chairperson, Madam Jean Mensa is being pushed to compile a new voters' register.

According to him, the response given by Madam Jean Mensa to the questions put before her during a meeting with the Special Budget Committee of parliament shows clearly that there are flaws in the country's electoral processes.

Speaking on Okay FM’s Ade Akye Abia Morning Show, Hon. Ahmed Ibrahim, a member of the Special Budget Committee said the EC Chairperson failed to satisfy the committee with rich response as to how the Electoral Commission can have a final fool-proof register before the December polls.

"In fact, I had pity for the woman, to be honest with you. It looks as if you don’t know something and people are pushing you to do it . . . This is because you are 5 months into elections and at the same time, you are before the Supreme Court that is yet to decide on your fate on a petition, and the entire country is in your hand as everyone is mentioning your name, Jean Mensa. Whenever they push you to do something then you do it. In fact, if she was my sister, I would have asked her to resign,” he said.

He stressed that her responses to the many questions posed to her were not on point and it was her two deputies who tried to answer the questions contrary to the proceeding in Parliament that she answers all the questions.

“You could see that there is something missing . . . she must open up. Whether we like it or not, she is the EC Chairperson and so she must open up so that we can have a broader consultation on the issues because it is about the destiny of this country," he urged.