Member of the Minority Group in Parliament, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has announced the possibility of the caucus rejecting the budgetary allocation made to the Electoral Commission (EC) over the recent appointment made by the president.The North Tongu MP in a Facebook post on Thursday asked Ghanaians whether it would be morally right for the Minority to shortchange the Commission over the appointment of Dr.

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Peter Appiahene, who is alleged to be a New Patriotic Party (NPP) faithful.“With Prez Akufo-Addo’s unpatriotic & extremely reckless determination to convert Ghana’s Electoral Commission into an NPP HQ annex, would NDC MPs in Parliament be wrong in refusing to approve the budget of the EC until TESCON Patron Dr. Peter Appiahene is dropped? Your thoughts, please,” Mr Ablakwa wrote.

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TESCON (Tertiary Students Confederacy) is the student wing of the New Patriotic Party(NPP) of Ghana that is instrumental in the party’s student and grass-root engagement and mobilisation.Mr. Ablakwa felt it necessary to ask this question because the government has allocated an amount of GH¢386,047,606 to the Electoral Commission to be spent in 2023, which is yet to be approved by parliament.

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 The money, according to the 2023 budget statement, is to be used for compensation of employees, purchasing of goods and offering services, as well as upgrading or maintaining physical assets (CAPEX).BackgroundPresident Akufo-Addo inaugurated the Electoral Commission's new members on Monday, March 20, 2023. Among the newly appointed commissioners are Dr. Appiahene, a TESCON patron, Salima Ahmed Tijani, and Rev.

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Akua Ofori Boateng. While the government praised the new appointments as a move towards strengthening the Commission's capacity, the minority has expressed concerns about the EC's integrity.Following the ceremony, pictures and videos implicating Dr Peter Appiahene of being involved in partisan politics emerged.He is reported to be actively engaged in TESCON activities at the University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR).Dr.

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Peter Appiahene, whom Akufo-Addo has appointed to the Electoral Commission with two others is a card-bearing @NPP_GH juggernaut. Its a plan!He's TESCON-UENR Patron, was once among considerables for Bono Regional Minister & had represented the NPP on several political shows. pic.twitter.

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com/1VzH6TeQN2— MPK 𓃵 (@MPKwarteng_) March 21, 2023 Why it mattersThis revelation has infuriated members of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) who assert that the president is working to turn the Electoral Commission into an annex of the ruling party.

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Director of the NDC’s International Relations Directorate, Alexander Segbefia, stated that Ghana’s democracy hangs in the balance as the government is allegedly working to alter the decisions made by Ghanaians when they exercise their franchise.

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“It is clear that in a situation like this, it’s imperative that partisan colours for certain positions in this country should not be or cannot be overtly shown to have been demonstrated in the past because it means that on every decision that person is involved in, it will be scrutinised 10, 15, 20 times more than it should be, because there is already a fear and a belief that that person doesn’t approach it in a fair manner or a neutral

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position.“And that, whether right or wrong, is the perception that is created, by allowing somebody who is clearly very overtly partisan but is coming into the position of a referee to actually hold such an office. I think it’s so obvious that I don’t know why it keeps being done.

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“It has the ability to threaten our very democracy, elections in Africa are some of the most tense periods in the democratic dispensation of countries and any step that you take that is going to heighten that tension is not advisable within the African context,” he told JoyNews.

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On the matter, former President John Dramani Mahama has pledged to amend  Article 43(2) of the 1992 Constitution to provide Parliament with power to approve new commissioners.“Of course, the appointments of known party activists onto the Electoral Commission by our current President may require an amendment of Article 43(2), to provide for parliamentary approval of new Commissioners to the Commission.

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Let me assure you once again, I remain committed to these reforms,” he said.He made the statement at the launch of his JM 2024 Campaign fundraising app at UPSA on Wednesday, March 22, 2022.Article 43(2) of the 1992 constitution states that “ The members of the Commission shall be appointed by the President under article 70 of this Constitution.”

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