…On Appointment of EC Chairman

By Nana Akua Tweneboah-Koduah

September 18, 2013

Dear Mr Obetsebi Lamptey,

I address this letter to you because of the serious controversy you have stirred following the letter you wrote to the Council of State to consider the concerns of the various political parties when advising the President on who to appoint as Chairman and Commissioners of the Electoral Commission (EC).

You even stated in your letter that, “Ghana would be helped if the Council of State were to formalise and institutionalise a process to act upon the advice of, amongst others, IPAC when advising His Excellency the President on who should serve on the EC.”

To refresh your memory, the EC has seven (7) members. We have three permanent members of the EC who are the Chairman and the two deputies, while the remaining four are non-permanent members. The law puts the retiring age of the EC Chairman at 70, and that of the deputies is 65 with the non-permanent members pegged at 60.

During JA Kufuor’s presidency, all the four non-permanent members of the EC reached the retiring age of 60, therefore, President Kufuor acting on his constitutionally mandated authority did not even inform Ghanaians about it. President Kufuor, quietly and administratively replaced all the four non-permanent retired members of the EC. They are Eunice Akwele Roberts, Nana Enyiaba, Pauline Dzadzawa and Aggrey Fynn.

But since then two of the non-permanent members appointed by JA Kufuor have also retired. They are Eunice Akwele Roberts and Nana Enyiaba. Those two retirees were also replaced with Adjalo Kabukie and Sadatu Maidu by the late President John Atta Mills.

We did not hear from any NPP member at the time President Kufuor was replacing the four non-permanent retired members of the EC, calling on the president to formalise and institutionalise a process to act upon the advice of, amongst others, IPAC when advising His Excellency the President on who should serve on the EC.

The NPP felt at the time that there was no need because the constitution enjoins President Kufuor to replace members on the EC as and when there were vacancy. We did not hear the NPP calling for the inclusion of IPAC in the appointment of members to the EC by the President. That was then.

But today, your party which is reeling under severe pressure following its double loss of the 2012 Elections and the subsequent Supreme Court Petition case on the election results, has found it prudent to deny President John Mahama his constitutional right of appointing persons to the EC.

Why would the NPP call for variations in the appointment of members to the EC when the constitution of the country does not say so? Why is the NPP trying to infringe on the constitution? What are you afraid of?

Do you not believe that what is good for the goose is equally good for the gander? Why is the NPP always trying to play smart anytime they have their backs at the wall?

President John Mahama is wise enough to appoint people to man the EC as mandated by the constitution. The President does not need the NPP to offer any advice in that stead. If your party needs to do anything now, it would be better to concentrate on the re-organization and rebranding of the NPP.

The current NPP brand is not selling which is why the party has suffered two electoral defeats in a row. I am gratified that one of your own, Stephen Asamoah Boateng, former Minister of Information under Kufuor’s regime, has openly come out to warn the NPP that they should stop attacking President Mahama’s government and rather focus on making the NPP attractive ahead of the 2016 elections.

Asamoah Boateng could not have been far from the truth, therefore, I urge you to stop your arrogant posture of infringing on the constitution. Remember that the NDC has decided to give up the bungalow which you fraudulently bought when your party was in office, because the courts ruled in your favour. If therefore, you want others to respect the rule of law; you must also endeavour to respect the constitution which is the heart and soul of the nation.

nakuakoduah@yahoo.com