The Director of Advocacy and Policy Engagement at the Centre for Democratic Development, Ghana (CDD-Ghana), has implored the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to desist from interfering in the appointment of the new Electoral Commission (EC) members.
Dr. Kojo Pumpuni Asante stated that President Akufo-Addo’s act of swearing in individuals who were known to be affiliates of the NPP into the office of the Electoral Commission, an institution that was supposed to be a non-partisan body that oversees national elections, was dicey and would benefit neither the NPP nor any other political party.
Rather, he stressed that the President’s appointment poses a threat to the democracy of Ghana and the stability of the State.
He also indicated that because his outfit was kept in the dark about the nominees—Rev. Akua Ofori Boateng, Salima Ahmed Tijani, and Dr. Peter Appiahene,— CDD-Ghana could not have the chance to raise their concerns about the appointed members and only got to know about them after they had been sworn-in.
This, according to Dr Asane, has placed his institution in a situation where they have to raise these concerns at such a late time.
While contributing to a discussion on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday, he told the host, Samson Lardy Anyenini thus: “I think for me the NPP should really rethink and step back. I will give them the benefit of the doubt that this is a mistake. They did not probably calculate the implications of what they were doing.”
Dr Asante’s comments follow calls by individuals and institutions for two out of the three newly sworn-in members of the EC to resign from office.
On Monday, March 20, Rev. Akua Ofori Boateng, Salima Ahmed Tijani, and Dr. Peter Appiahene were sworn-in as new members of the EC by President Akufo-Addo at the Jubilee House.
Ghanaians have had varying responses to the appointments, considering that the induction takes place 21 months before the 2024 elections.
Moreover, in a joint press conference on April 5, 2023, the Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO), in collaboration with STAR-Ghana Foundation and the Civic Forum Initiative (CFI), revealed that after conducting background checks on the three appointees, they learned that Dr. Appiahene is a New Patriotic Party activist in the Bono Region.
“Since the announcement of his appointment as a member of the EC, social media postings have revealed that Dr. Appiahene is an activist of the New Patriotic Party in the Bono Region, including one social media comment from January 2021 headed ‘Dr Appiahene for Bono Region,” the release stated.
Furthermore, they added that their background investigation on Madam Salima Ahmed Tijani indicated that she had close familial relations with the active and leading figures of the NPP.
“She is said to be married to one Sheikh T.B Damba, a leading member of the NPP who was formerly the Second National Vice Chairman of the party and served as Ghana’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia from 2017 to 2021.
“Madam Salima Tijani’s mother, Hajia Samata Gifty Bukari, was the first elected woman First Vice Chairperson of the NPP in the Northern Region, while her sister Hajia Abibata Shanni Mahama Zakariah, who is currently the CEO of Microfinance and Loans Centre (MASLOC), contested the 2020 NPP primaries for the Yendi constituency and has already publicly announced her intention to contest again for the Yendi seat in 2024.”
Therefore, with these issues highlighted, they (CODEO and its collaborators) contended in their press statement that the two people in question be made to resign since their affiliations with the NPP created a conflict of interest in their newly assigned office.
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