Sector Minister contradicts Ghana’s former Electoral Commission Chairman

by Kofi Ayim

Ghana’s Minister of interior, Prosper Bani has inadvertently exposed the Electoral Commission of Ghana. He has also contradicted the former chairman of the Electoral Commission, Dr. Afari Gyan .The exposure also indubitably relives the now infamous 2012 Election Petition and vindicates the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
In the aftermath of a press release relating to the arrest, detention, and deportation of three South African ex-policemen, the minister of the interior signed a statement that among others, alluded to, and confirmed that one of the three arrested former police officers had on him, documentation about some staff of Superlock Technologies Ltd (STL), an Israeli company. The statement by the Minister issued March 29, 2016 pointed out that “STL is the company contracted by the Electoral Commission to transmit tallied election results.”
It would, however, be recalled that a suspicious New Patriotic Party (NPP) delegation on December 8, 2012 visited the offices of STL in Dzorwulu to ascertain the role of STL at the Electoral Commission. The NPP was informed that STL serves only to provide backup communication services to support facsimile transmission of election results to the Electoral Commission, a statement quickly denied by the Electoral Commission. The denial, issued by the then Chairman of the Electoral Commission, Dr. Afari Gyan December 8, 2012 said in part “The Commission’s attention has been drawn to allegations that it has engaged the services of a company to do electronic transmission and collation of results on its behalf …” We wish to state emphatically that no such engagement has been made, neither is the Commission doing electronic transmission of results.” The declaration by the minister has incensed the largest opposition party and angered the second largest opposition Progressive People’s Party (PPP). Both parties are calling for “better and further particulars.” The Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO) has jumped on the fray, asking the Electoral Commission to spell out its involvement, if any, with STL.
The seemingly embarrassing and contradictory statement has left many discerning Ghanaians dumbfounded. In an attempt to defend the debacle, the General Secretary of the ruling National Democratic Congress, Mr. Johnson Asiedu Nketia, laid the blame on the opposition New Patriotic Party. He said the false stand assumed by the opposition NPP that STL transmitted the election results of 2012 infuenced the thought-pattern of the Interior Ministry, an argument some described as infantile and political immaturity. “The Ministry of Interior’s statement on STL is the outcome of well – orchestrated lies by the NPP,” he was alleged to have said on an Accra local radio station April 4. The General Secretary, popularly known as General Mosquito claimed that the Minister of Interior could not have known the role of the STL in the 2012 elections, since he’s not a key player in the election process.
The National Organizer of the National Democratic Congress, Mr. Kofi Adams, who was accused by the NPP on a local radio program for not being able to justify the role played by the STL, responded that the NPP lacks serious minds for its effective operations. Referring to the suspension of its general secretary Mr. Kofi Adam said that had Mr. Kwabena Agyapong not been suspended he wouldn’t have towed the line of the NPP Communication team because “he understands how results are transmitted from polling stations to the Electoral Commission headquarters.” Meanwhile, the Electoral Commission, up the creek without a paddle finds itself between a rock and hard place and prefers to be mute. While a livid NPP may feel vindicated, its call for political correctness and action is a tall order, given the contemporary politico-judicial climate in Ghana. The question on the mind of both critics and observers is: Who is lying, Prosper Bani or Afari Gyan? Or is it a case of the Independence brochure where he who ordered the document never wrote or read it? It would, however, be recalled that a suspicious New Patriotic Party (NPP) delegation on December 8, 2012 visited the offices of STL in Dzorwulu to ascertain the role of STL at the Electoral Commission. The NPP was informed that STL serves only to provide backup communication services to support facsimile transmission of election results to the Electoral Commission, a statement quickly denied by the Electoral Commission.

Posted by on Apr 12 2016. Filed under Community News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

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