Former President John Mahama has criticized President Nana Akufo-Addo for appointing Pro-New Patriotic Party (NPP) officials as Electoral Commissioners and has called on the Church to speak against it.
On Monday, May 20, 2024, during a meeting with the Christian Ecumenical Council, Mr Mahama criticized the president and cited him as being nepotic with his appointments at the Electoral Commission.
“This is a president who is appointing politically exposed people into positions of trust where they are supposed to be neutral and non-partisan and, so, people who have been communicators for the party, people who have been IT backstops for the party, today, are Commissioners of the Electoral Commission,” he said.
He further questioned the neutrality of the EC, questioning the neutrality of the appointments of TESCON members.
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“People who were patrons of TESCON on campus are today Commissioners of the Electoral Commission, How do you expect them to be neutral and fair in what is happening? ”Mr Mahama questioned
In June 2023, he said the National Democratic Congress (NDC) knew it was going against an incumbent government that has proven that it is prepared to shed the blood of its citizens to hang on to power, as they amply showed at the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election and the 2020 elections, together with an Electoral Commission whose neutrality in this electoral contest is questionable.
Mr. Mahama called on the church to use its platform to highlight this issue, joining forces with the clergy to collectively amplify his concerns.
“We want to wake up the conscience of the nation that the right thing must be done so that the outcome can actually be the will of the people”, he said.
As the election approaches, he has reechoed the importance of vigilance by the church in ensuring transparent, free and fair elections.
“So, going up to the election, we will continue to play our part. We will raise the red flags anytime we think things are not going very well. And we believe that the church community should also keep an eye and be vigilant in terms of making sure that the right thing is done,” he concluded.
