A member of the advisory board of the Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO), Rev Dr Fred Deegbe has yet again called for the resignation of two newly sworn-in members of the Electoral Commission.
According to him, the Electoral Commission (EC) is a sensitive institution and only neutral people should be appointed to the office.
He said that if the government believes that Dr. Peter Appiahene and Hajia Salima Ahmed Tijani must render some service to the State, there are other institutions they could do that other than the EC.
“We think the moral argument, I mean the preponderance of evidence putting it out there will help qualified Ghanaians know that there are other places they can serve the nation in their capacity as people who have a political affiliation,” he said on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday.
He emphasised that there is nothing wrong with belonging to a party but the institution to which they were appointed is supposed to be independent of party operations.
“Nobody is blaming them for their partisan affiliation but to serve on the EC when it is clearly stated in black or white where they can read it, where they know the role of the EC.
“We are just playing back to them and say please step down and do the honourable thing and posterity will reward you for being people who did the right thing,” he added.
Rev Deegbe also said that the patriotic spirit of CODEO and other institutions compelled them to insist on the resignation of the appointees to promote peaceful coexistence in the country.
“We are talking about CODEO, Star Ghana, IDEG … who have been involved in this. There are many others who are just… I mean we love this country and we see where we are headed not just in this case but many other cases and particularly where we are now.
“We are on very dangerous ground and we should not sacrifice one of the only things that have held us together – peaceful elections where we can develop and even go to IMF 17 times to develop and do things.
“If we throw this one away also, what else? And if people are able and are mindful to resign peacefully, I think it will be a feather in their own cap,” he added.
On April 5, CODEO at a press conference called for the immediate resignation of Dr. Peter Appiahene and Hajia Salima Ahmed Tijani, who had just been appointed and sworn in as officers of the EC.
The conference came on the back of claims by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and others that the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) had filled the EC with active party affiliates.
Reading the address on behalf of CODEO, Rev. Dr. Fred Deegbe implored the two newly appointed EC members to resign voluntarily.
“We are painfully aware that voluntary and constitutionally grounded revocation of this unfortunate and democratically problematic EC appointment by the President is extremely unlikely,” he said.
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