Firing Charlotte Osei, 2 others a painful decision - Akufo-Addo

President Akufo-Addo has said the decision to remove the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC), Charlotte Osei and her two deputies was a painful one but it was done within the laws of the land.

He said he acted upon the recommendations of a committee set up by Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo as mandated by the Constitution and there is nothing more to it.

Speaking on the issue for the first time at a town hall meeting with Ghanaian resident in Nouakchott, Mauritania the President said he acted within the law in removing Mr Osei, Amadu Sulley and Georgina Opoku Amankwah.

President Akufo-Addo last Thursday removed the EC Chair on grounds of misbehaviour and abuse of office after months of investigations following a petition filed by some workers of the election body.

The decision has been condemned by the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) which argues that Mrs Osei’s removal is to feed into a certain agenda by government.

A member of Parliament's Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee, Rockson Dafiamekpor, for instance, has said prior to for her removal, members of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) had wanted her out.

The South Dayi MP said his Assin Central colleague, Kennedy Agyapong, had on numerous occasions vowed that Mrs Osei would be removed.

“The Committee looked at the two stated grounds in the constitutional provision: stated misbehaviour or incompetence…so every other phrase was crafted in such a way to emphasise or hammer on the word misbehaviour,” the NDC legislator argued.

His reference was a leaked report detailing reasons for recommending that Mrs Osei and her two deputies, Amadu Sulley and Georgina Amankwah, be removed from office.



But President Akufo-Addo said he could not do contrary to the recommendation of the committee by the Chief Justice.

He added that the law does not allow him to on his own go ahead and investigate their recommendation so as to disagree with their findings for Mrs Osei and her deputies to continue serving.

The President said the law is clear that whatever the recommendations of the committee, he must work with it.

According to him, it is sad it came to firing the three but he has a job which has to be done dispassionately without favours adding there is no malice to the decision taken.



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