The head of the United Nations Office for West Africa UNOWA, Dr. Mohammed Ibn Chambas has watered down\u00a0calls on President Mahama to engage in\u00a0broader consultations on the appointment of the next chairperson of the Electoral Commission.<\/p>\n
Per the 1992 constitution, the Council of State is expected to advise the President on who should be appointed as EC Chair to replace Dr. Afari Gyan.<\/p>\n
[contextly_sidebar id=”iUxJrQlAzAYj44WQTD5yvtPadTyEoxdS”]Already there is pressure mounting on President Mahama to broaden the scope of consultation on who becomes the next EC boss.<\/p>\n
The New Patriotic Party(NPP) 2016 presidential candidate, Nana Akufo Addo just recently called on the President to consult widely<\/strong> <\/span><\/a>before the appointing a new Chairman of the Electoral Commission.<\/p>\n Addressing students at University of Cape Coast(UCC), Nana Akufu-Addo stated that the appointment of the new Electoral Commission boss requires vigorous consultation.<\/p>\n \u201cIn many many other jurisdictions across the world, whoever successfully emerges as the Head of the Electoral Commission is put through a rigorous selection procedure which includes wide stakeholder consultation, vetted by a committee often in public and finally approval by a special majority\u2026I will respectively urge the President to abide by the constitution and allow the council of state to do its work openly and transparently,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n The Minority Spokesperson on Legal and Constitutional Affairs, Joe Osei Owusu earlier made similar calls.<\/p>\n In backing calls for greater transparency in naming a new EC boss, Joe Osei Owusu who is also the Member of Parliament for Bekwai earlier said both the President and the Council of State will serve Ghana\u2019s democracy very well if they open the process to carry along all stakeholders.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n However speaking in an interview with Citi News<\/strong> the seasoned diplomat, downplayed such calls and insisted the appointing authority should just go by the dictates of the constitution and not complicate the process by heeding to calls for broader consultations.<\/p>\n “You are talking of constitutional issues and constitutional authorities granted to Presidents and other players and so let us go strictly according to the stipulation of the constitution,” Chambas said. By: Marian Efe Ansah\/citifmonline.com\/Ghana
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