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A concerned citizen has petitioned President John Dramani Mahama to dismiss the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC), Jean Mensa, along with her two deputies, Dr Bossman Asare and Samuel Tettey, and a commission member, Dr Peter Appiahene.
The petition, filed on Monday, 27th January 2025, accuses the individuals of breaching Article 42 of Ghana’s 1992 Constitution. Allegations include incompetence, bias, and actions that have eroded public confidence in the EC’s integrity, in contravention of Articles 23 and 296 of the Constitution.
The petitioner, from the Volta Region, specifically referenced the disenfranchisement of voters in Santrokofi, Akpafu, Lolobi, and Likpe (SALL) during the 2020 parliamentary election, which left them without representation in Parliament.
The petition states:
For over four years, the people of SALL were deprived of their constitutional right to parliamentary representation, leaving them without a voice in the legislative process. At the time of this deliberate exclusion, the parliamentary composition was a hung parliament.
The SALL area’s parliamentary vote was pivotal and could have potentially given the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) a majority. By disenfranchising these voters, the EC acted in a manner that suggests partisan bias and an attempt to influence the balance of power in Parliament.
The petitioner also accused Jean Mensa and her deputies of incompetence and poor management, citing the decision to exclude SALL voters as an example. Additionally, past comments and actions by Dr Bossman Asare and Dr Peter Appiahene were highlighted as undermining the impartiality of the EC.
This petition follows a similar call for action by the Positive Transparency and Accountability Movement – Ghana (PTAAM-GH), which, on 8th January 2025, accused the EC of causing financial loss to the state by compiling a new voter register and procuring new biometric devices for the 2020 general election.