No one denigrated the commission when you appointed NDC sympathizers during your time — EC to Mahama

The Electoral Commission of Ghana has issued a rebuttal of former president John Mahama's allegations that its composition is full of "NPP sympathizers" and party members.

In a recent interview, Mr. Mahama had said "You as much as possible want to appoint people who are credible, who are respected, who everybody knows would be neutral. But this is a government that has a record of appointing NPP people on to the Electoral Commission."

However, the EC says in a statement dated April 25, that "There were Ghanaians who questioned the neutrality of the person he [Mahama] appointed. There were also Ghanaians who equally accused President Mahama at the time of appointing persons with NDC sympathies to the Commission."

The statement adds: "What was different then is that other Ghanaian political leaders did not use every opportunity they got to demonise and denigrate the Electoral Commission as a result of their reservations about President Mahama's appointment to the Commission. He, on the other hand, has never missed an opportunity to denigrate this Commission."

The commission denied Mahama's allegation of ministers and local government officials nominating "party apparatchiks" for returning officer roles ahead of the December 7 polls.

"The allegation by former President Mahama that Ministers and DCEs were asked "to write the names of party apparatchiks and present them so that they would be appointed as the returning officers" IS NOT TRUE,” said the EC.

The commission insists its recruitment of returning officers was carried out through an "open, fair and transparent" process with no political interference, contrary to Mahama's claims.