President John Mahama on Monday, sworn in Emelia Afi Agbenyo and Dr Joseph Kwaku Asamoah as new Deputy Commissioners of the Electoral Commission, following the vacancy created after the resignation of Dr. Bossman Asare and Samuel Tettey, earlier in June.
Read Also: Bossman Asare Resigns as EC Deputy Commissioner
However, the recent appointments have sparked criticism around political affiliation and its implications for the independence of the election management body, particularly linked to Emelia Afi Agbenyo’s affiliation with the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC).
Before her appointment to the EC, she was serving at the Ghana TVET Service, but opposition figures have been more concerned about her past role as a campaign spokesperson for NDC’s 2024 manifesto.
National Communications Director of the NPP, Dennis Miracles Aboagye has called for her removal, citing concerns over the independence and neutrality that comes with the office.
“You must be independent. Is she independent? No. They must remove her, and we are demanding that. The Council of State ought to have known this woman’s colour, which is blatant. There is nothing secret about it, and they should have advised the President,” Miracles said on Citi TV’s Breakfast Daily programme on Wednesday, October 14.
However Government Spokesperson, Felix Kwakye Ofosu has justified the appointment, saying it brings a “partisan balance” to the leadership of the EC.
“I have acknowledged that there are people who have legitimate concerns, but those concerns in my view will be mitigated by the conduct of Madamm Afi [Emelia Afi Agbenyo] herself in the role that she’s been given,” he said on JOY FM’s Top Story on Tuesday, adding that “a Reset could also mean balancing the lopsided state institutions. Why is it acceptable for us to have a situation where out of seven commissioners who manage Ghana’s elections, almost four are NPPs? Why should we live with that? What is wrong with tilting the balance?”
The criticism over partisan appointments to the EC is not new. When former president Nana Akufo-Addo appointed Dr. Bossman Asare as Deputy Chairperson of the EC in 2018, then in opposition, President John Mahama, Foreign Affairs minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Felix Kwakye Ofosu and well known NDC officials kicked against it because of the former’s affiliation to TESCON, the university campus grouping of the NPP. But today, the ruling party is defending the current move.