The General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Johnson Asiedu Nketia has rubbished the Ghana Bar Association’s (GBA) demands for the President to appoint a new chairman of the Electoral Commission (EC).
He described the GBA’s demands as “completely unnecessary and unfounded…”
The GBA on Tuesday asked the President, John Mahama to initiate the processes for the appointment of a new Electoral Commissioner since the current chairman is due for retirement in 2015.
The Association further encouraged the President to appoint a person who is just and is of has high integrity to boost the credibility of the EC.
[contextly_sidebar id=”UwkVptY00tACDk8NmFJ4w1YkQKg7ZY7O”]According to them, the challenge of the results of the 2012 general elections tainted the image and the integrity of the Commission; therefore, it must be restored with the appointment of a new chairman.
But Asiedu Nketia on Eyewitness News responded that President Mahama does not need any encouragement to appoint a substantive EC chairman.
“Why the encouragement? Has the President told them that he lacks courage to get a successor? Who told them that the President needed that advice?” he angrily asked.
He accused the GBA of “throwing dust in the eyes and minds of people,” adding that, the EC does not lack credibility as it is being suggested by the Association.
The NDC’s General Secretary retorted that the GBA would have been better off if it had not made those statements insisting that, “the issues they are raising have no basis at all. I don’t think that the President needs their advice to ensure that the right person is chosen to fill the position.”
“They themselves know that these things are governed by law and I am so disappointed that those who are trained as lawyers who ought to be directing the attention of the nation work according to the rule of law, they themselves are recommending things that are not based on law,” he fumed.
By: Efua Idan Osam/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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