The Electoral Commission (EC) has dismissed a claim by South Dayi Member of Parliament Rockson Nelson Daferamekpor that the Chair of the EC Jean Mensa has been flown in from Nigeria to Ghana to attend Parliament on the proposed Constitutional Instrument(CI) that is seeking to make the Ghana Crad the sole identification document for the voter registration.
A statement issued by the Commission on Monday Febraury 27 said “The EC received a letter from Parliament on Wednesday, February 22, 2023 inviting the Commission to brief the leadership of the House on the draft CI on the registration of voters on Thursday 23 February 2024.
“At the time the chairperson had traveled to Nigeria at the invitation of ECOWAS/ECONEC for a peer exchange and election observation mission. That notwithstanding Dr Bossman Asare Deputy Chair for Corporate Service attended the meeting together with other directors of the commission.
“Surprisingly, the meeting was canceled as the Minority side insisted on the presence of the EC Chairperson at the meeting. We wish to state that contrary to the news item that the EC chair has returned to Ghana, the chairperson is still in Nigeria. She has not returned to Ghana.”
The EC added “The Commission, especially its chairperson understands the importance of the institution of Parliament having worked with Parliament for two decades prior to her appointment as Chairperson of the EC.
“The Chairperson upholds the institution of Parliament and will therefore not disrespect it in any way.
“The fact remains that the invitation from Parliament was sent a day before the meeting at a time the chairperson was out of the jurisdiction. Had she been aware of the request prior to her travel she certainly would have prioritized the meeting and attended upon the Honourable House.”Mr Dafeamekpor had indicated that following the opposition lawmakers’ rejection of the officials from the EC and the National Identification (NIA) who were in Parliament to brief the House on the proposed CI, Madam Jean Mensa who was not among the officials, has been flown in from Nigeria to Ghana.
He said the Minority lawmakers were not prepared to accept ” the disrespect” of the EC Chair towards Parliament.
On Thursday, February 23, the opposition lawmakers vehemently rejected officials of the EC and the NIA.
“Yesterday, EC gave 1000 & 1 reasons why Jean Mensa couldn’t be in Parliament to answer questions on her inordinate desire for a new CI.
“The Minority stood its grounds: No Jean Mensa, No meeting. Guess what? She’s been flown in from Abuja. Her disrespect of Parliament has to end,” he tweeted.
The Minority has been raising issues against the proposed CI by the elections management body which seeks to use the Ghana Card as the only identification document for voter registration ahead of the 2024 general elections.
