The 2020 presidential candidate of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama, is no more singing the praises of his once darling electoral management body, the Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana.
The former President, who ahead of the 2016 election defended the electoral body to the hilt, now holds a different view, following his defeat in the 2020 presidential election.
Speaking on TV XYZ on Tuesday November 9, he claimed that the Afari Gyan and Charlotte Osei led commission did a better job.
Prior to the 2016 election, Mr John Mahama defended the Charlotte Osei led EC and urged Ghanaians to allow the electoral body to do its work.
When the presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party in the 2012 elections took the electoral commission to court to challenge the presidential results, Dr Afari Gyan made an emphatic statement that ‘elections are won at the polling station’.
The above statement made by Dr Afari Gyan was used by the NDC in the 2012 elections against critics of Charlotte Osei.
Mr. Mahama has been on the neck of the Electoral Commission after losing the 2020 presidential election, which result he refused to accept and contested at the Supreme Court.
Yesterday, speaking on TV XYZ, he said “When Afari Gyan and Charlotte Osei were there, we have been the leading electoral commission. When I went to Liberia for election monitoring, after first round there was confusion, ECOWAS sent a technical team led by Charlotte Osei to come and sort out the Liberian EC problems and she came and sorted it out.
“Everything that I say is to make them sit up, they must redeem themselves in 2024, so when I am pointing out their mistakes it is not that I hate them.”
Independent Investigation
Mr. Mahama accepted the challenge thrown by the EC to the police to investigate the vote fraud claim he made.
“That is what I want, they said we should have an investigation, let’s have an investigation. But I don’t know if the police are the best to do that. I don’t know what the police are going to investigate. We want an independent inquiry or let’s go to ECOWAS.
“ECOWAS has an electoral body, let them come and investigate Ghana’s election of 2020. I will welcome it, I will testify. Under oath, I will swear an oath and testify. I won’t run away from the witness box,” Mr. Mahama said.
EC Challenge
The EC in a response to Mr Mahama over his allegation that one million votes were padded in favour of the NPP, asked the Ghana Police Service to investigate claims of criminality Mr. Mahama levelled against the EC.
“The transparency of our processes makes ballot-stuffing impossible. It cannot be done. We call on the former President in the interest of our democracy to provide evidence of the stuffing of the ballot boxes by the EC officials. The police should investigate this as a matter of urgency because its potential can erode our democracy.
“The former President has alleged that the military influenced the declaration and announcement of the election results. This is also false. It never happened. Nowhere did the military influence the declaration and announcement of the results. It is not true, because the 2020 elections were widely participatory,” he added.
