Former Majority Leader and MP for Tamale South, Haruna Iddrisu, has made it clear that President-elect John Mahama is not focused on removing Jean Mensa, the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC).

Iddrisu, a lawyer and experienced politician, emphasised that Mahama’s priorities lie in addressing more urgent issues, particularly the country's struggling economy, rather than any changes to the leadership of the EC.

“Why would you change the Electoral Commission Chairperson? These are not matters of primary concern to President John Mahama. I am begging you... where Jean Mensa is... she doesn’t determine who rules Ghana. Ghanaians determine who rules them,” Haruna Iddrisu stated in an interview on TV3.

His comments follow calls by Joyce Bawah Mogtari, the special aide to President-elect John Dramani Mahama, for the resignation of the EC Chairperson due to concerns about the Commission’s handling of the 2024 elections.

The EC faced numerous challenges during the election, including issues with biometric verification devices and the recall and reprinting of ballot papers due to a leak of the original ballots. These problems eroded public trust in the Commission, with many describing its performance as incompetent.

In an interview on GHOne TV, Mrs. Mogtari expressed surprise that Jean Mensa had not resigned after the election declaration, given the series of issues that plagued the Commission.

She argued that the EC’s performance had damaged its credibility, making it necessary to take steps to restore public confidence in future elections.

She stated, “I would have thought that she [Jean Mensa] would resign after the declaration. I don’t understand. But genuinely, considering the performance of the current Electoral Commission, what do you expect? From a very professional standpoint, if we genuinely want to move forward and start a new chapter with an independent EC, as the Constitution intended, let’s advertise the position, vet the candidates, and have Parliament handle the process. This will help remove the partisan outlook of the EC.”