Minority Chief Whip, Governs Kwame Agbodza, has vehemently criticized the Electoral Commission (EC) and its Chair, Mrs. Jean Adukwei Mensa.
In a blistering response to the recent press conference held by the EC Chair, Agbodza rejected the Commission’s attempt to use Parliament as justification for what he views as an unfair strategy to suppress the number of first-time voters.
“One of the false, weak, and wishy-washy excuses the EC Chair, Madam Jean Adukwei Mensa, sought to canvass at her press conference to justify the EC’s dogged determination to suppress first-time voters is her claim that the Commission is acting within the constraints of its work-plan and budget as approved by Parliament,” Agbodza stated.
“Parliament, in considering the Electoral Commission’s budgetary estimates for 2023, its Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) from 2023-2026, and the Electoral Commission’s actual appropriation for 2023, did not take a pesewa out of the Commission’s requests,” he emphasised.
Mrs. Jean Mensa, the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC), has pointed out that Parliament shares some of the responsibility for the Commission’s difficulties in decentralizing its voter registration process.
She attributed this challenge to the House’s failure to pass the new Constitutional Instrument (C.I.) that was submitted for approval.
In addressing the criticisms and concerns surrounding the ongoing limited voter registration exercise, Mrs. Jean Mensa noted that the Commission finds itself in a challenging situation.
The budget figures presented by Agbodza paint a stark picture. “Indeed, both Appendix 4A (MDA Expenditure Allocation) of the 2023 Budget Statement and the Third Schedule of the Appropriations Act 2022 (Act 1090), as well as the EC’s own Programme-Based Budget Estimates contained in its MTEF, put the EC’s total budget for 2023 at GH₵386,047,606. Out of this figure, the EC budgeted a rounded figure of GH₵56,059,846 for registration of voters in 2023.”
Mr Agbodza stressed that Parliament approved a generous budget for the Electoral Commission, stating, “It is important to state that the Electoral Commission’s budgetary allocation for 2023 is far more than all the budgetary allocations of the Ministry of Information and its agencies, the National Development Planning Commission, the National Media Commission, the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, and the Right to Information Commission, put together.”
“There can be no justification on the part of an Electoral Commission that is hell-bent on disenfranchising voters by placing strictures and fetters on the inalienable rights of Ghanaians to register to vote in public elections and referenda, instead of implementing programmes to expand that right as it is enjoined by law to do”, the Adaklu MP stated.
Mr Agbodza had a stern warning to the EC and its Commissioners; “Jean Mensa will not be allowed to use Parliament as a convenient excuse for her lawless conduct, and as representatives of the people, we will soon be demanding accountability from her and the other Commissioners.”
The voter registration exercise currently taking place at the EC’s district offices nationwide has faced significant criticism from political parties and civil society organizations. They argue that the EC has not provided sufficient justification for confining the exercise to its district offices.