President Nana Akufo-Addo has been petitioned by a group known as the Centre for Democratic and Accountable Government (CEDAG) to remove a Deputy Chair of the Electoral Commission, Dr Bossman Asare from office for having publicly urged the public to vote YES in the December 17, 2019 referendum which has now been cancelled.

According to the group, Dr Asare openly rallied the public to vote YES so that Article 55(3) is amended to allow political parties to sponsor candidates in local-level elections.

“It is highly reprehensible, the conduct of the Deputy Chairperson Dr Bossman Asare who heads and oversees the election process of our country to take sides and openly campaigned in favour of a moiety of the opposing group,” the petition said.

This conduct and some others, according to the group should not be countenanced, a reason the group is asking President Akufo-Addo to “remove Dr Bossman Asare from office as Deputy Commissioner to restore the confidence and to safeguard our democracy and the peace of the country.”

Below is a copy of the full post;

Petition Against the Deputy Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Dr Bossman Asare.

As public interest advocates, we write to bring to your notice a compendium of misconduct of the Deputy Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Dr Bossman Asare, which cast a shadow of slur on him as a person that is not fit for the job of Deputy Electoral Commissioner.

Your Excellency, your all-too-nigh salutary proposition and inimitable initiation of the upcoming referendum to get political parties sponsor candidates for the local level elections comes into sharp focus, vis-à-vis the conduct of Dr Bossman Asare, the Deputy Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, upon which this petition hinges.

As we welcome the need to tweak our 1992 republican constitution to reflect the evergreen living legal document of our time, we appreciate that we should do so within the acceptable professional conduct as required by the offices we occupy.



Dr Bossman Asare, in the exercise of his duty as the Deputy Chairperson of the of the Electoral Commission, on the 18th of November 2019, on 3FM, openly campaigned for a vote of ‘yes’ in the referendum on Article 55(3) which has seen a strong opposition across the various social construct of the country; political parties, CSOs, chiefs, opinion leaders and the general public at large.

It is, highly, reprehensible, the conduct of the Deputy Chairperson, Dr Bossman Asare, who heads and oversees the elections and the electoral process of our country, to take sides and openly campaign in favour of a moiety of the opposing groups.

This, we find highly dangerous, as it is literally likened to striking a match close to aviation fuel. Nobody wants to see the end results, especially in our part of the country where the political environment mostly gets overly charged.

The certitude that he will guarantee us a transparent, free and fair referendum to reflect the sovereign will of the denizens is zilch and does not offer us any hope in his role as the referee for the referendum.

Another conduct of his, which does not nurture a healthy political environment is seen when after the appointment of Dr Bossman Asare to the office of the Deputy Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, he has openly stated: “The actions of the country’s biggest opposition party, the NDC, are gradually becoming a cause for worry for the peace and stability in the country.”

Statements like this coming from him engender mistrust and raises suspicion of fair treatment by Dr Bossman Asare to the opposition party, which is a major player in our political praxis.

Though officers of the Commission, at some point in time, will be appointed by the government of a particular party, they are not under any obligation to favour or exhibit any conduct to suggest same as such conduct has the tendency to destabilise the peace of the country.

Our democracy cannot be toyed with by anybody or group of persons whose conduct and attitude fail to build the hope and the trust needed in a democracy anchored on institutions like the Electoral Commission, like the case of Dr Bossman Asare and, so, I am asking you to really consider the rarity and precocity of this opportunity to remove Dr Bossman Asare from office as the Deputy Commissioner to restore confidence and safeguard our democracy and the peace of the country.

Your Excellency, have the assurances of our highest esteem and surveillance.

Yours in the service of Ghana.