Beatrice Annan, a member of the National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) National Communications Team, has criticized Ghana’s Electoral Commission chair, Jean Mensa, for her “adamant” and “rubber-stamp” approach to decision-making.
She wondered if Madam Mensa “understands what democracies mean” as she slammed her during a television appearance and described the Electoral Commission as an NPP “annexe”.
Annan, speaking on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana show on Monday, April 29, compared Mensa’s tenure to that of her predecessor, Afari Gyan, saying Mensa lacks cooperation with political parties.
Annan noted that the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) was established to facilitate consensus-building among parties, but Mensa’s commission has been unresponsive.
“The reason we agreed as a republic to have IPAC is to clear every doubt in the mind of the political parties to allow the political parties come to a consensus in decision making,” Beatrice Annan said.
“Dr. Afari Gyan had his challenges with political parties, NPP will have issues with him NDC will have issues with him and they will resolve at IPAC………. the NPP were those who called for the biometric verification and at IPAC the parties resolved it. We had the same with Charlotte Osei. What we have is more like a rubber stamp electoral commissioner who is so adamant and just against doing the right things that you can’t even understand for the life of you whether Jean Mensa understands what democracies mean,” she explained.
Annan also disputed the Electoral Commission’s claim that it auctioned off obsolete biometric verification devices to a private recycling plant as a cost-saving measure. She alleged that the commission omitted software, logistics, and consulting costs from its calculations, and that someone is benefiting from the procurements.
The Electoral Commission has defended its actions, stating that it replaced obsolete equipment with new infrastructure to ensure the integrity of electoral processes. However, Annan’s comments suggest that the opposition party remains skeptical of the commission’s motives.
By: Vanessa Edotom Boateng | Metrotvonline.com | Ghana
