The Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Jean Mensa, was an activist of the governing New Patriotic Party, NPP; an opposition lawmaker has claimed.

According to the National Democratic Congress, NDC, lawmaker for Tamale Central, Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed, the EC chair despite her previous work in the civil society space had long held political affiliation.

“She was an activist of the NPP, she has always been an NPP activist,” he said in submissions monitored by GhanaWeb on Accra-based Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana program.

When pushed by the host about his allegations; Murtala continued: “You don’t know? So if you are a chairperson of a civil society organization, you can’t belong to a political party?

“We have religious leaders in this country who are more political than politicians. I am saying that she has been an activist of the NPP,” he added.

Reacting to Murtala, co-panelist Nana Akomea dismissed the claims: “Jean Mensa has never been involved in our party activities since 1993 when I became a party member. It is sad, when you are making such a statement about the EC chairperson,” Akomea stressed.

The main topic for discussion was on the Supreme Court of Ghana’s judgment on John Dramani Mahama’s Election Petition case. Panellists also dissected the reaction that Mahama gave following the dismissal of his petition challenging the re-election of president Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

This is not the first time an NDC member is accusing the EC chair on being a member of the NPP. In February 2020, NDC deputy General Secretary, Peter Boamah Otukonor was on record to have made a similar accusation.

“Since time immemorial, we members of the NDC knew that woman was a full NPP person and her appointment now vindicates us. The circumstances surrounding the removal of the EC chair, and her appointment means anyone the president nominates will be seen as NPP Member,” Peter Boamah Otukonor told Accra-based Kingdom FM 107.7

“The NDC is also talking this way because it believes that the NPP will have the opportunity to manipulate the EC in the process. Jean Mensa is NPP sympathizer. And someone who is a sympathizer of the NPP will be managing the data that will be collected for the election.”