Former UN Senior Governance Advisor, Prof. Baffuor Agyeman-Duah, has expressed concern over the recurring practice of replacing heads of the Electoral Commission (EC) whenever a new government takes office in Ghana. He believes this trend poses a serious threat to the nation's democratic stability.

Citing examples like the removal of Charlotte Osei following the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) victory in the 2016 elections, Prof. Agyeman-Duah pointed out that this issue is gaining even more attention now.

The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), which opposed Osei's dismissal at the time, has recently threatened to remove the current EC Chair if they win the 2024 elections.

Addressing the Ghana Speaks High-Level Forum 2024, organized by IDEG, the co-founder of the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) described this pattern as "dangerous."

He explained that such frequent changes at the top of the EC undermine the integrity of the electoral system and weaken good governance.

Prof. Agyeman-Duah emphasized the importance of preserving continuity and impartiality within the Electoral Commission to maintain public trust in elections.

He urged Ghanaian political parties to abandon this practice and take inspiration from Western democracies, where transitions in EC leadership are less politicized and more conducive to ensuring the stability of the electoral process.

“The suspicion is always there, I don’t know why, but because they are appointed by the president, it’s difficult for the political parties to accept that this is a neutral body.

I hope we nip it in the bud, but this new culture of a president comes, doesn’t like the previous chairperson of the Electoral Commission, so I appointed my own.

“I don’t know who is going to win the elections, but suppose John Mahama becomes president again, my good friend Jean Mensa will not be there. They have already said that ‘when we come, we will also change you’.

“After all, it’s so easy to change, one petition from a person to the president, onwards to the chief justice, they constitute the panel, and you are gone. Is that not so? And that is dangerous.

“That is the system, and I’m saying we need to review the system. The president doesn’t have to appoint. In other countries and other democracies, electoral officers or bodies are appointed differently; we can learn.”