... but Coalition Says Its Travesty of Justice

The Coalition for Social Justice (CSJ), a pressure group, has expressed dismay over the dismissal of the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC) and her two deputies by the President.

It labeled the decision as harsh.

Charlotte Osei together with her two deputies, Amadu Sulley and Georgina Opoku Amankwah, had been removed from office based on the recommendations of the Chief Justice's (CJ) Judicial Enquiry Committee.

In July 2017, some concerned workers of the EC petitioned President Nana Akufo-Addo to cause full-scale investigations into acts of financial malfeasance and abuse of office by Mrs Osei and her two deputies Mr Sulley and Mrs Amankwah.

The six-page petition was referred to the CJ, who after establishing that there was a case to be answered, set up the committee as required by the constitution.

The Convener of the Coalition, Sammy Gyamfi, however, pointed out that "the petition sent to the President was incompetent and legally unrecognisable.

"It was undated, unsigned and fell short of the constitutional requirements of a petition, we hold the view the Chief Justice acted unlawfully when she propounded a new legal definition of a petition in contravention of the decision of the Supreme Court.

"It is legally pathetic that an incompetent petition will form the basis for the dismissal of Mrs Osei for incompetence, we are of the opinion that a peripheral issue like violation of the Public Procurement Law should not constitute enough grounds for the impeachment of the EC Boss whose position is equivalent to a Court of Appeal Judge.

"This is because the Public Procurement Act specifies remedies for its breaches and this does not include removal from office.

"The Coalition for Social Justice will soon embark on a series of mass protests in the regions to drum home our revulsion for this creeping tyranny in our country," Mr Gyamfi cautioned -GNA

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