EC’s Recruitment of Partisan NPP Members As Returning Officers Is Recipe For Disaster-CARE Ghana

Pressure group, Care for Free and Fair Elections Ghana (CARE GHANA), is asking Ghana’s Electoral Commission, to immediately reverse alleged recruitment of New Patriotic Party (NPP) affiliates as Returning Officers for the 2024 elections.

In a statement released on April 26, 2024, the watchdog group, said the alleged partisan recruitments, only serve to undermine the credibility of the EC, in the estimation of all right-thinking Ghanaians.

“This action by the EC is a slap in the face to every citizen who entrusts their confidence to the electoral process, expecting fairness and transparency in return.

“The public’s faith in the electoral system is at stake, and failure to address this issue could have long-lasting consequences for the stability of our democracy,” the group said.

It added that, “the EC has a duty to uphold the highest standards of impartiality and fairness in conducting elections, and it must not waver in fulfilling this sacred responsibility.

The time to act is now to safeguard the integrity of our democracy and restore public trust in the electoral process. It is imperative that corrective action is taken to rectify this situation. “

CARE-Ghanaitical Science’s call comes in the wake of concern expressed by former President John Mahama, over the alleged partisan recruitment by the Election Management Body in respect of the 2024 elections.

In an interview at the London School of Economics and Political Science, Mr Mahama, expressed concern about the EC’s alleged recruitment of persons affiliated with the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) for the role of returning officers for the 2024 elections.

The EC has, as is expected, denied such recruitment and even given a cheeky reply to Mr Mahama, saying that when John Mahama was president, the EC, had recruited persons that were accused of being affiliated to political parties.

But responding to this, CARE Ghana, said the EC is playing with fire.

“Similar incident occurred in the 2020 elections which witnessed numerous infractions, illegalities and errors.

By entrusting individuals with strong political affiliations to oversee the electoral process, the Electoral Commission is effectively compromising the integrity of the elections and betrayed the confidence of the public,” CARE-Ghana warned.