Vice President of IMANI Ghana, Kofi Bentil has advised the chairman of the Electoral Commission (EC) take steps not to derail the confidence the public has in the Commission.
According to Mr. Bentil, Charlotte Osei will put the whole nation at risk if she continues to make questionable decisions such as the composition of the 18-member national election steering committee which has raised concerns among Ghanaians.
“If she continues to act this way, she will destroy her legacy and put this country at risk,” he said on Accra-based Joy FM.
A few weeks ago, the EC inaugurated an 18-member national election steering committee but some opposition political parties and some pressure groups raised concerns about the membership of the committee, some of whom were said to be members of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC).
The EC after an Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meeting held on Friday, agreed to suspend the election committee for broader consultation to take place.
Contributing to a panel discussion, Mr. Bentil who is also a lawyer said: “This whole episode is extremely worrying and I put the blame at the doorstep of the chairman of the Commission. Her judgment in these things leaves a lot, a lot to be desired.”
He was of the view that in times like this, “you want a certain assurance that must come from how she positions herself.”
“The decisions she makes; even if you agree or don’t agree, the outcome of those decisions should give you the confidence so those who are saying this is clear that she is in bed with the NDC, I don’t think it’s that bad.”
Mr. Bentil pointed out that following the suspension of the committee and the EC chair’s admittance that broader consultation were not done, “she has just given them so much ammunition and there has been proof in some of the people who have been investigated and shown to be NDC so they are firing on.”
He nonetheless stated that Ghanaians should be clear that “this is not a fatal situation that compromises her entirely.”
“The setting up of the committee is not illegal, it is the determination of its mandate that will determine its legality,” he added.