The Member of Parliament for Juaboso Constituency, Hon. Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, has launched a scathing critique of the Electoral Commission (EC), accusing it of undermining Ghana’s democracy and plunging the country into electoral chaos.
Addressing the media in Juaboso, Hon. Akandoh claimed that the EC has abandoned its constitutional duty of neutrality and is instead acting as an extension of the New Patriotic Party campaign machinery.
He made these averments following the sudden transfer of the Juaboso District Electoral Officer and the alleged appointment of party members as EC Polling officers just a month before the elections.
Also, the Juaboso MP accuses EC of massing district office with party members, demands publication of photographs of polling officers
In a brief media engagement in Juaboso the Member of Parliament for the constituency Kwabena Mintah Akandoh alleged that the replacement of the District Electoral Officer by an appointee tied to the Deputy Chairperson of the EC, Dr. Bossman Asare, was part of a broader strategy to rig the elections in favor of the NPP.
He claimed the newly appointed polling officers are openly partisan, with some publicly endorsing Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the NPP’s presidential candidate, and the NPP parliamentary candidate for Juaboso.
The Member of Parliament highlighted several violations of Constitutional Instrument 127 (C.I. 127), which governs the conduct of elections.
Regulation 19(6) (a&b) mandates the publication of names and photographs of presiding officers and polling assistants at district offices and their distribution to political parties at least 10 days before the election.
However, Hon Akandoh noted that the EC’s published list for Juaboso lacks the required photographs of polling officers and the 159 officers on the list do not have telephone numbers, while some numbers are duplicated, raising questions about the authenticity of the data.
To address these concerns, Hon. Akandoh has submitted a formal petition to the District Electoral Commission, demanding immediate action.
Source: www.kumasimail.com
