General News of Friday, 21 July 2017
Source: citifmonline.com
2017-07-21
Peace Council calls for calm in EC
The Chairman of the Peace Council, Reverend Professor Emmanuel Asante has urged the feuding factions at the centre of the confusion at the Electoral Commission to cease fire and opt for an amicable solution.
Professor Asante in a Citi News interview advised the Chairperson of the Commission, Charlotte Osei and the aggrieved workers to resolve their issues internally as according to him, the consequences of their action could hurt Ghana’s democratic credentials.
Charlotte Osei: I’ll sue ‘aggrieved EC’ workers for defamation “The EC is a very important institution in the country’s democratic governance, they are responsible for our election and everything which is very central to the democracy we are practicing so if there are wrangling going on in the EC, it creates all sorts of problems.
And again a lot of people have deep sense of respect for us especially for the last election which was very peaceful.
Now this comes up with all sorts of accusations and counter accusations and all that tarnishes the image of our democracy and that is why I would plead that the EC chairperson must have a meeting with the staff; there must be some form of arbitration to listen to both sides.
And try to find out whether the issues that are there can be thrashed” Professor Asante noted that the factions must dialogue to iron out their differences since the nation will suffer if the situation is not handled professionally.
“Reading through what people are saying, they are not the things that we should be fighting about outside. Perhaps when we jaw jaw, when we sit and talk, we might know what is actually happening and through arbitration and dialogue they will be able to solve their problem and that will augur well for our democracy of our nation because if the institution that is the pillar for our democracy is at loggerheads then we are in for trouble,” he added.
Background
Some staff of the EC are on the heels of the Chairperson over her role in the investigation of some top officials of the commission by the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) over the missing GHc480, 000 from the Commission’s Endowment Fund for its staff.
Some of the top officials were subsequently ordered to proceed on leave while investigations continue.
Meanwhile, days after the issue came to the fore, some employees of the EC petitioned the president to sack Mrs. Osei accusing her of corruption. They also accused her of breaching public procurement regulations and disregarding administrative procedures in her management of the electoral body; claims she has rubbished.
Charlotte Osei has however threatened to sue the employees for defamation.
