Akufo-Addo wants to convert EC into NPP HQ annex – Ablakwa

Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Member of Parliament for North Tongu has lambasted president Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo over his recent appointment of a known New Patriotic Party (NPP) activist as an Electoral Commissioner.

The lawmaker holds that doing so was unpatriotic and extremely reckless, adding that it amounted to Akufo-Addo’s resolve to turn the Electoral Commission into a branch of the NPP’s head office.

In a social media post dated March 22, 2023, the lawmaker also proposed a way through which the Minority in Parliament can resist the appointment of Dr. Peter Appiahene, who is a patron of one of NPP’s tertiary education wing, TESCON.

“With Prez Akufo-Addo’s unpatriotic & extremely reckless determination to convert Ghana’s Electoral Commission into an NPP HQ annex, would NDC MPs in Parliament be wrong in refusing to approve the budget of the EC until TESCON Patron Dr. Peter Appiahene is dropped? Your thoughts,” his post read.

Akufo-Addo appoints NPP man, two others as EC commissioners

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Monday (March 20) swore in three new Electoral Commissioners at the Jubilee House in a brief ceremony.

The three were: Dr. Peter Appiahene, Salima Ahmed Tijani and Rev Akua Ofori Boateng.

Out of the three, the appointment of Dr. Appiahene in particular has drawn a lot of political controversy.

This is because of his known role as a patron of the New Patriotic Party’s tertiary institutions wing, TESCON, specifically the University of Energy and Natural Resources branch.

Some Civil Society Organizations including the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD) Ghana, have expressed misgivings over the appointment of Dr. Appiahene calling on the president to withdraw his appointment.

In his comments on the appointment, Bright Simons of Imani Ghana tweeted: “Seeing how Ghana’s Electoral Commission is always on the defensive about being totally independent & professional, I expect the top bosses to inform the Prez that they’d rather resign than work with partisan activists as that’ll sully the EC’s reputation!”