A former Executive Director and Founder of Danquah Institute, Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko has said the removal of Charlotte Osei from office as Chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC) together with her two deputies, Amadu Sulley and Georgina Opoku Amankwah have nothing to do with the government, political parties or civil society groups.
According to him, their dismissal was self-inflicted.
[ads]He said Charlotte Osei and her two deputies began throwing mud at each other publicly after the 2016 general elections adding that the President only exercised his constitutional mandate upon recommendations by the five-member committee established to investigate corruption allegations at the EC.
Gabby in a Facebook post said “Let it be stressed that the events that led to the removal of the EC chairperson and her two deputies had nothing, absolutely nothing to do with the government, political parties or even civil society groups.
“It started (we must all recall because it was all in the media) with infighting at the very top of the Commission shortly after the Dec 2016 elections. All gloves were off. The EC Chairperson and her two deputies began throwing mud at each other – publicly! They accused each other of corruption and abuse of power. They were soon joined by staff members of the EC.
“It is what they said about each other, the evidence they provided against each other, and the decision by their respective supporters to compile all the pieces of evidence into separate petitions which their own loyalists filed that triggered the constitutional process which eventually led to their removal, after full hearings. The President had a simple perfunctory but important role to play and that role was strictly provided by the Constitution.
“First, he had no choice but to pass on the petitions to the Chief Justice once received. Secondly, he had no option, per the Constitution, but to act according to the recommendations of the Committee of Inquiry once received. This is the truth and the whole truth according to the facts and the law.”
