Two clergymen call for calm
Two prominent Ghanaians have underscored the need for an amicable resolution of all issues between the staff of the Electoral Commission (EC) and its Chairperson, Mrs Charlotte Osei.
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The two, the Chairman of the National Peace Council (NPC), Professor Emmanuel Asante, and the General Secretary of the Christian Council of Ghana (CCG), Rev. Dr Kwabena Opuni-Frimpong, in separate interviews, were of the view that any issues existing between the staff and the Chairperson did not have to escalate to mar the peace of the country.
Background
Last Tuesday, some staff of the EC petitioned the President and the Chief Justice to impeach Mrs Osei.
In a six-page petition, the group, calling itself concerned staff, accused her of misconduct and cited breaches of some provisions of the 1992 Constitution by her.
They accused her of administrative ineptitude, lacking the capacity of managerial experience of corporate governance structures and regulatory compliance.
They added that the Chairperson had no respect for the organisational structures of the commission.
Meanwhile, Mrs Osei has responded to her critics, first asking them to unveil themselves and later stating that her responses to the charges against her were ready, however, she was defering to the Presidency for a formal invitation before making them public.
Peace
Speaking in his personal capacity, the Chairperson of the NPC, Prof. Asante, said the NPC had not deliberated over the matter yet.
He, however, thought that the issue could be resolved amicably.
He said the parties did not have to escalate matters with the publication of all their issues in the media.
“I have heard about these issues on air, as we all have. The National Peace Council has just come up to discuss it, as the matter is just occurring,” he said.
He said the NPC would meet to explore how to support any arbitration efforts, if the matter was referred to it.
Peace/cohesion
The General Secretary of the CCG, Rev. Dr Opuni-Frimpong, who also advocated an amicable resolution of the impasse, said that was important for the institutional credibility of the commission not to be eroded.
He said the peaceful resolution of the impasse between the parties would also inure to the social cohesion and the peace of the country.
He wondered what the results would be, if the impeachment processes being pushed by the staff of the EC were allowed to go through the full course, particularly when some political parties had jumped into the fray and were trading accusations, with one party accusing the other of instigating the removal of the EC Chair, and the other vehemently denying it.
“What would we all gain, if we won all the debate regarding the issue and lost our friends?” he queried.
Protect
Rev. Dr Opuni-Frimpong was of the view that the EC was as equally important to the democratic processes of the country in post-election periods as during election years.
“Marring that with the politicisation of the issue will detract from the country’s democratic credentials and the institutional credibility, and we need to maintain that,” he stressed.
He said staff of the EC had to exhaust all internal institutional grievance processes before airing any grievance in public.
The General Secretary added that if that had been done, then it was prudent for an arbitration panel to be constituted to redress any issues of the parties.
“The CCG will be willing to support any such effort in the spirit of togetherness, cohesion and peace after the elections,” he added.
He said there was the need for the public to keep in mind the next general election and search for alternative dispute resolution mechanism and healthy internal working relationship dialogue.
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