The Electoral Commission (EC) has vehemently refuted allegations made by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) flagbearer John Dramani Mahama regarding the appointment of Returning Officers for the 2024 polls.
In a recent interview at the London School of Economics and Political Science, Mr Mahama accused the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government of appointing its members to the EC.
His concern was also about the EC’s impartiality in the upcoming elections claiming that the election management body had requested MPs and DCEs to disclose the names of NPP members during the recruitment of Returning Officers and their deputies.
However, Fred Tetteh, the Deputy Director of Research, Monitoring, and Evaluation, debunked these claims in a statement dated April 25. He criticised Mr Mahama for condemning a practice he had employed during his term.
The EC also clarified that the recruitment process for Returning Officers and their Deputies was conducted fairly and transparently, countering Mr Mahama’s assertions.
“Per the attached public announcement, the Commission invited ALL interested Ghanaians to apply for the positions of Returning Officers and Deputy Returning Officers. The allegation by former President Mahama that Ministers and DCEs were asked “to write the names of party apparatchiks and present them so that they would be appointed as the returning officers” IS NOT TRUE.
“The Commission rejects this unfounded allegation coming from the former President. The process of recruiting Returning Officers and their Deputies was conducted in an open, fair and transparent manner. Following the publication of the vacancy announcement in the Daily Graphic on the 5th of February 2024, the Commission received a total of 20,561 applications.
“An in-house Committee was established to shortlist suitable applicants to be interviewed. For the information of the general public, all successful applicants at the interview have no less than 8 years of working experience with the Commission as Temporal Election Officials.”
