‘I don’t want to be a product of crooked elections’ – Akufo-Addo tells EC

President Nana Akufo-Addo has challenged the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission to conduct the December polls in a fair, credible and transparent manner.

On the day he is taking his fourth shot at the presidency since 2008 the President said he did not want to be the product of crooked elections.

“I am not interested in any crooked results. I don’t want to be President elected by deceit. I look forward to a contest that will be fairly conducted,” he told the EC officials as he filed his nominations in the company of his number two man, Dr Mahamadu Bawumia.

With Ghanaians set to have a referendum on his four years in office, the President was bubbling with a sense of optimism but at the same time cautious of a divine outcome.

“If indeed by the grace of the Almighty, I am again the choice of the Ghanaian people, it will be one that was freely and openly demonstrated,” he said handing over documents that officially asks for the renewal of the mandate he won in 2016 after defeats in 2008 and 2012.

Ahead of the election in which the main opposition, the National Democratic Congress, is viewing the Electoral Commission with suspicion, the President urged the commission to be a partial judge.

Opposition parties in Ghana often have a frosty and distrustful relationship with the EC.

It was one that was not lost on the President when he advised the commission.

“Elections are not meant to be decided by you. You are the referees of the contest. The election is supposed to be decided by the people of Ghana. We are hoping that the rules that will be put in place will enable the Ghanaian people to manifest their will on December 7, and choose the next government of the fourth Republic.”

But he had praises too.

So far, the work that you have done gives us considerable confidence that the majority of the people of our country believe in the leadership of the commission as people who are committed to free and fair, credible and transparent election.

Outside the offices of the commission, hundreds of party supporters were chanting the party’s new campaign mantra, “Four more for Nana.”

The EC opened nominations for the 2020 presidential and parliamentary elections on September 14.

In response to COVID-19 protocols, however, the parties and independent candidates were asked to download the forms online.

The nominations are to be filed from Monday 5th to Friday 9th October 2020, with a filing fee of GHS100,000 for presidential candidates and GHS10,000 parliamentary candidates.

These filing fees are to be paid in banker’s draft.

Meanwhile on the first day of the nomination, two-time independent presidential aspirant, Jacob Osei Yeboah has also submitted his nomination forms.

But this time, he would not be a frontrunner for his bid to be President but rather run as a running.

He told the media that he would go into the December polls as running mate for one Alfred Kwame Walker, a yet-to-be unveiled candidate.