The Omanhene of Essikado Traditional Area, Nana Kobina Nketsia V, has described calls for as broader consultation on the appointment of the chairman of the Electoral Commission (EC) as a sign of distrust for the country’s leadership.
The traditional leader explained that the posture of leadership of the country has generated the calls for broader consultation in the appointment of the next EC boss.
“It is the lack of trust in our own cultural ability that is kind of thing. If we believe that the President will act in a truly independent, non-partisan way, we wouldn’t have a problem but if you are going to play football, who doesn’t want the referee on his side?
The current EC chairman, Dr. Kwadwo Afari Gyan who was appointed in 1992 has since presided over six national elections with his last ending up at the Supreme Court.
He is to retire in June after 21 years of service to the state and has given rise to the need for a new EC chair to be appointed.
A number of suggestions on how the next EC chair should be appointed, the tenure of the appointment and who to appoint have come up for discussion. Article 70 (2) of the 1992 Constitution states that “the President shall, acting on the advice of the Council of State, appoint the Chairman, Deputy Chairmen, and other members of the Electoral Commission.”
But some are recommending a change in the appointment procedure. Others have suggested a broader consultation before a new chair is appointed while some others are demanding that the new EC chair be approved by Parliament.
But the governing National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) General Secretary, John Asiedu Nketia in an earlier interview with Citi News advised the President to stick to the dictates of the constitution.
He remarked that despite the numerous calls and proposals, no individual or group of persons have been able to mention specific problems that have arisen from the existing mode of appointing Electoral Commissioners.
In an exclusive interview with Citi News however, Nana Kobina Nketsia V advised that while Ghanaians are calling for a broader consultation; they should give President Mahama the benefit of the doubt in choosing a credible EC boss.
He noted that in competitive activities, “there is always that problem of doing whatever it takes to win but we can only do that well if we can bring our culture in.”
According to him, the country’s culture is about “consensus building; our culture is about consultation…so there is room for us to create trust.”
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