Charlotte Osei Sacked!

President Nana Akuffo Addo has dismissed the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC) Charlotte Kesson-Smith Osei.

Her two deputies; Amadu Sulley and Georgina Opoku Amankwaah have also been axed.

The action follows the recommendation of the Committee set up by the Chief Justice, Justice Sophia Akuffo pursuant to Article 146(4) of the Constitution, to investigate separate complaints brought against the three persons by Ghanaian citizens.

Sack

A statement signed and issued by Mustapha Abdu-Hamid Minister for Information and Presidential Spokesperson stated that the Committee recommended their removal on the basis of stated misbehaviour and incompetence, pursuant to Article 146(1) of the Constitution.

The provisions of Article 146(9) of the Constitution require the President to act in accordance with the recommendations of the Committee.

As a result, the statement added that the President has directed the three persons to hand over their respective schedules to the Director for Human Resource and General Services of the Electoral Commission and thanked them for their services to the nation.

CJ Petitioned

The dismissal comes just two days after a Civil Society Group, Center for National Affairs had petitioned the Chief Justice, urging her to expedite investigations into impeachable allegations against Mrs. Osei and her two deputies.

This, the group believed is necessary to ensure the credibility of two impending referendums slated for next year.

The referendum on District Assembly election and the creation of new regions are to be supervised by the Commission.

It may be recalled that some EC workers in a six-page petition submitted to the President in July, 2017 levelled some allegations against their boss.

The petition was forwarded to Ms. Akuffo as enjoined by the Constitution and a five-member committee was subsequently up to probe the matter after a prima facie case was established.

The petitioners among other things noted that all well-meaning citizens of the country would be provided with some air of relief if the investigations are expedited and the recommendations forwarded to the President for the pronouncement on the matter to be made.

“This would go a long way in helping the Electoral Commission function effectively after several months of what has been observed as dysfunctional state of affairs at the election management body.

First Female EC Boss 

Mrs. Osei became the first female to serve as EC Boss since independence and she is also the first chairperson since1992 to be sacked.

She replaced Dr. Kwadwo Afari Gyan who spent almost two decades as Chairman of the Commission.

Before her appointment she was the Chairperson of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) from 2011 until 2015.

In 2015, she was appointed chairperson of the Commission by former president John Dramani Mahama and presided as the Returning Officer for Ghana’s 2016 Presidential and Parliamentary elections.

By: Jeffrey De-Graft Johnson