The Chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC), Mrs Jean Mensa, has said the members of the commission are not in office to do the President’s bidding.
According to her, they were in office to serve the nation, adding that in doing so, they were determined to be fair to all.
Mrs Mensa said this in Accra last Tuesday at the inauguration of a 21-member Eminent Advisory Committee which is to, among other things, enhance interactions between the EC and Ghanaians.
Determination
As a commission, she said, “we are determined to ensure a level playing field for stakeholders — the political parties. We are determined to be fair, transparent and accessible to all, not to one political party or a few, but to all”.
“Indeed, since our assumption of office, we have been trying our best to do just that. To this end, we have held regular IPAC meetings, during which we present our activities in an open and transparent manner. We have ensured regular information sharing with all our stakeholders and we have maintained an open-door policy. And, yet, notwithstanding these and other efforts, suspicion about our independence remains high.
“I believe that this suspicion is linked to the mode of appointment of public office holders, such as us. Because it is a sitting President who appointed us, it is perceived that we are here to do his bidding. I am here to assure you all that this commission is not cast in that mould,” Mrs Mensa declared.
Systems
She said the EC was putting in place systems and structures to ensure credibility in the country’s elections.
“We recently introduced a code of conduct to guide and regulate all field officers of the EC, both temporary and permanent. The code governs our operations in the field before, during and after elections and includes stringent sanctions on staff who violate its provisions,” she said.