EC row: Charlotte Osei faces Parliament today

Chair of the Electoral Commission, Charlotte Osei, will Wednesday appear before Legislators to respond to questions about the heated internal wrangling at the elections management body.

She will also brief the Parliamentarians on how funds generated from the replacement of voter ID cards and the sale of media accreditation cards ahead of 2016 elections were spent.

Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, told Joy News the leadership of Parliament are likely to hold a separate meeting with the EC Chairperson in a bid to find the cause of raging animosity between herself and two of her deputies.

Some unidentified staff have also petitioned President Nana Akufo-Addo for her removal from office, claiming has abused her office and engaged in acts of fraud.

The Majority Leader told Joy News’ Joseph Opoku-Gakpo that the EC Chairperson would indicate to MPs “what in her considered opinion could be done to stem the tide of agitation at the EC.”

Background

The country was shocked last week Thursday with a 27-point petition pregnant with allegations of misconduct against the EC Chair.

The petition which was to trigger the full impeachment processes under Article 146 of the Constitution partly described the EC Chair as incompetent, corrupt, fraudulent and autocratic.

The petition, signed by private legal practitioner, Maxwell Opoku Agyemang stated among others, that the Chairperson of the Commission in many instances breached the Procurement Law in procuring goods and services for the Commission.

In what the petitioners claim to be a one-woman show, Charlotte Osei was alleged to have unilaterally and without recourse to procurement procedures engaged the services of lawyers, Sory@Law who represented the Commission in the pre-election legal banter with aggrieved parties and disqualified flagbearers.

She was also alleged to have abrogated an existing contract with Super Tech  Ltd. (STL), unilaterally renegotiating and re-awarding the contract at new sum of $21,999,592 without serious regard to the tender processes.

“The chairperson, Mrs Charlotte Osei unilaterally awarded a contract of about $25,000 to a South African company Quazar Limited to change and re-develop the Commission’s Logo under the guise of rebranding without going through tender contrary to the Public Procurement Act,” point 26 of the petition read.

Events took on a new twist when Mrs Osei’s responses to the claims against her triggered further allegations against her by two of her deputies, Georgina Opoku Amankwaa and Amadu Sulley.

Some MPs have said public confidence in the Commission is being eroded as a result of the allegations and counter allegations.

Vice Chairman of Parliament’s Constitution and Legal Affairs Committee, Alexander Kwodwo Abban, believes the Commission’s image is been dented.

Meanwhile, Mrs Osei has proceeded to court with a suit against the Mr Opoku Agyemang.

She is seeking damages from the court against Maxwell Opoku Agyemang, who on behalf of the unnamed workers of the Electoral Commission petitioned the president to remove the Chairperson of the Commission over stated misconduct.

In a suit on Monday, July 24, 2017, and intercepted by Myjoyonline.com, the lawyer for the EC Chair, Thadeus Sory, said the claims contained in the petition which were publicised both in the social and traditional media were false and defamatory.