The Chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC), Jean Adukwei Mensa, emphasized that the commission does not have the authority to determine the outcome of elections, stating that this responsibility lies solely with the voters.
Speaking at a press conference in Accra on Friday, September 20, following the announcement of approved presidential candidates, she highlighted that only Ghanaians, through their ballots, can decide the winners, not the EC.
The commission has officially approved 13 candidates to run in the December 7, 2024, presidential election.
“Following the successful conduct of the Filing of Nominations from the 9th of September to the 13th of September, 2024, the Commission instituted a thorough examination of the Nomination Forms submitted by the Candidates to ensure conformity with requirements as set out in law,” an earlier press release announced.
“The Electoral Commission wishes to inform the General Public that the following persons have successfully gone through the Nomination process and qualify to contest as Candidates in the 2024 Presidential Election,” it concluded.
According to a prior statement, nominations were filed between September 9 and 13, after which the EC conducted a thorough review of the submitted forms to ensure they met legal requirements.
“The EC wishes to inform the public that these individuals have successfully completed the nomination process and are eligible to contest in the upcoming election,” the statement concluded.
Chair of the Electoral Commission (EC), Jean Mensa, has firmly stated that the EC cannot alter election results to benefit any candidate.
In her address to Parliament on July 19, Madam Mensa assured that any staff member who engages in misconduct during this year’s elections will face strict penalties.
She emphasized that the Commission will not tolerate any questionable behavior and will act decisively within the bounds of the law.
“I can assure you if any of our staff misbehaves we would not take it lightly. We will sanction our staff and do what we have to do within the remits of the law.
“There is no way EC can change election results in favour of any candidate.
“We accepted this job knowing posterity will judge us, we have integrity,” Madam Jean Mensa said on Friday, July 19 when she briefed the lawmakers on the conduct of the 2024 general elections.
Earlier, she had promised that the process leading up to the 2024 general elections would be transparent and equitable, with involvement from all stakeholders, including political parties and the public.
This statement was made during the presentation of the Democracy Cup to the EC by Parliament’s leadership on July 17, 2024.
“Just like the football match we serve as the midwives that birth the elections, we are the referees that conduct, that lay the elections and the processes that lead to the election day itself.
“So as referees we are committed to ensuring that our activities from now in the lead up to the election and all our electoral processes are transparent, they are open, they are fair, and they involve the collaboration of our key stakeholders, that is, the political parties and the citizenry.”
“We commit to ensuring transparency in all aspects of our work…We will commit to maintaining and showing that level of transparency across all aspects of our work.
“So, we also want to entreat and call upon the contestants of the election to accept the outcomes of the election. Surely there will be a winner and surely there will be losers,” she stated.
Former Member of Parliament for Kumbungu Constituency, Ras Mubarak, has raised concerns about the capability of the Electoral Commission of Ghana’s chairperson, Mrs. Jean Adukwei Mensa, to effectively manage the commission and oversee electoral processes.
Mr Mubarak’s remarks follow the confirmation by the EC, led by Mrs. Jean Adukwei Mensa, during a meeting with Parliament’s leadership on Tuesday, March 19, 2024, that seven biometric verification devices of the Electoral Commission are unaccounted for.
Expressing his apprehensions, Mubarak highlighted what he perceives as a departure from the standards established by former Electoral Commissioner Charlotte Osei.
He suggested that this deviation from precedent raises doubts regarding the ongoing electoral procedures’ credibility.
In a post shared on his social media platform, Mr Mubarak asserted, “the @ECGhanaOfficial boss is not fit to head or conduct any elections. She falls way too short of the standards Charlotte Osei was judged by.”
Moreover he dismissed the claim of missing biometric machines as a mere diversion tactic to conceal underlying motives. He remarked, “Claims of missing biometric machines are all smokescreens. Something fishy is brewing.”
Minority Chief Whip, Governs Kwame Agbodza, has expressed sharp disapproval of the actions of the Electoral Commission (EC) and its Chair, Mrs Jean Adukwei Mensa. He addressed his concerns in response to a recent press conference held by the EC Chair.
Agbodza emphatically rejected what he perceived as an unjust strategy by the Commission to suppress the number of first-time voters. He particularly took issue with one of the justifications presented by EC Chair Madam Jean Adukwei Mensa during her press conference. He contended that her claim, which implied that the Commission’s actions were constrained by its approved work-plan and budget from Parliament, was unsubstantiated and feeble.
Agbodza vehemently challenged the validity of the EC boss’s assertions, specifically contesting her statement that the Commission lacked the budget to decentralize the registration process to the electoral area level. He firmly asserted that the approval of the EC’s budget for 2023 by Parliament did not involve any reductions that would justify the claimed limitations.
“Parliament, in considering the Electoral Commission’s budgetary estimates for 2023, its Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) from 2023-2026, and the Electoral Commission’s actual appropriation for 2023, did not take a pesewa out of the Commission’s requests,” he emphasised.
The budget figures presented by Agbodza paint a stark picture. “Indeed, both Appendix 4A (MDA Expenditure Allocation) of the 2023 Budget Statement and the Third Schedule of the Appropriations Act 2022 (Act 1090), as well as the EC’s own Programme-Based Budget Estimates contained in its MTEF, put the EC’s total budget for 2023 at GH₵386,047,606. Out of this figure, the EC budgeted a rounded figure of GH₵56,059,846 for registration of voters in 2023.”
Mr Agbodza stressed that Parliament approved a generous budget for the Electoral Commission, stating, “It is important to state that the Electoral Commission’s budgetary allocation for 2023 is far more than all the budgetary allocations of the Ministry of Information and its agencies, the National Development Planning Commission, the National Media Commission, the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, and the Right to Information Commission, put together.”
“There can be no justification on the part of an Electoral Commission that is hell-bent on disenfranchising voters by placing strictures and fetters on the inalienable rights of Ghanaians to register to vote in public elections and referenda, instead of implementing programmes to expand that right as it is enjoined by law to do”, the Adaklu MP stated.
Mr Agbodza had a stern warning to the EC and its Commissioners; “Jean Mensa will not be allowed to use Parliament as a convenient excuse for her lawless conduct, and as representatives of the people, we will soon be demanding accountability from her and the other Commissioners.”
Political parties and civil society organizations have criticized the EC’s voter registration exercise in its district offices across the country, claiming that the EC failed to justify its decision to limit the exercise to its district offices.
