<<Print>>A government spokesperson has downplayed National Democratic Congress (NDC) affiliation of some members on Electoral Commission’s controversial Steering Committee for the November polls.
Inusah Fuseini, Minister for Roads and Highways and Tamale Central Member of Parliament, says he struggles to see how the views of only three members of a panel – one of who has stepped down voluntarily - could influence the 18-member Committee.
“I seriously believe that a person’s affiliation with a political party does not in any way compromise his ability to be fair,” he said.
Inusah Fuseini was speaking Saturday on Joy FM and MultiTV’s news analysis programme, Newsfile.
Even though a clear mandate of the 18-member Committee set up by the elections coordinator has not been made public, many have raised questions about its legality and integrity.
The opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) has accused the EC of appointing NDC members on the team.
Following the accusations, Dr. Karl Mark Arhin, an executive of the governing NDC stepped down from the Committee, but the pressure on the EC has not waned.
Two renowned legal practitioners, Professors H. Kwesi Prempeh and Stephen Kwaku Asare, have also questioned the legal basis for the setting up of the Steering Committee to manage the November general elections.
Prof. Asare for instance believes discussions about the membership of the Committee would even be premature if the EC has not made public its role in the crucial November polls.
Prof. Prempeh queried the nature of the relationship that would exist between the Committee and the EC as well as the capacity of person(s) or instituon that is responsible for the composition and 18-member Committee.
The EC is yet to respond to these issues.
Commenting on the issue on Newsfile on Saturday, Inusah Fuseini said although he admits the EC should have been forthcoming with the mandate of the Committee when it was set up last week, critics must separate the affiliations – real or purported – of the marked Steering Committee members from the roles they are expected to play.
Another member of the Committee, Francis Azumah – a member of the Peace Council – has also been marked by NPP pressure group Let My Vote Count Alliance as an NDC loyalist.
Francis Azuma is believed to be a member of the NDC in the Builsa North constituency. He is said to said to have lobbied for the position of DCE in the constituency.
The third member, a lawyer and Deputy Commissioner of CHRAJ, Joseph Whittal, has also been tagged an NDC sympathiser.
“Can we have people in this country who will decide never to go and vote? Anytime a person decides to vote, he is exercising a choice to share in the aspirations of a political party,” Inusah Fuseini asked show host Samson Anyenini, adding it is important to separate a person’s political affiliations to his ability to deliver when they have been appointed to a Constitutional body.
Transparency is everything
Vice President of think tank IMANI Centre for Policy and Education, Kofi Bentil, blamed the EC Chair for the furore againt the Committee.
He said lack of transparency by the Mrs. Charllotte Osei regarding setting up and mandate of the Committee leaves much to be desired.
“The setting up of the Committee is not illegal. It is the determination of its mandate that will determine its legality,” he said.
Bentil said had the EC Chair made known the mandate of the Committee before hand, the fierce criticisms would have been avoided.
“She [Charlotte Osei] must have a contemplation of what she wanted it for. There must be so much sunshine in what the EC does,” he advised.