Special Aide to President-elect John Mahama demands resignation of EC Chairperson

Joyce Bawa Mogtari, Special Aide to President-elect John Mahama, has called for the immediate resignation of the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC), Jean Mensa.

According to Mogtari, the EC’s performance during the 2024 presidential and parliamentary elections fell below acceptable standards. Her criticism stems from the EC Chairperson’s decision to announce the winner of the presidential election 48 hours after voting concluded.

In an interview with Channel One TV, Bawa Mogtari attributed the delay to the nationwide unrest among some supporters of the National Democratic Congress (NDC). She remarked:

One of the reasons why we have these pockets of violence even is because it took too long for the EC to declare the results. They counted the presidential. By the time we all went to bed, we knew the main contender had actually been thrown in the towel. What were they waiting for?

Bawa Mogtari underscored the need to “reset” the Electoral Commission, alleging it has been compromised by politically exposed individuals. She, therefore, urged Jean Mensa to resign voluntarily.

In a press briefing on Monday, 9 December 2024, EC Chairperson Jean Mensa announced the official results of the election. Based on results from 677 out of the 276 constituencies in the 16 regions, John Mahama secured 6,328,397 votes (56.55%), followed by the presidential candidate of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr Bawumia, with 4,657,304 votes (41.61%). Nana Kwame Bediako placed third with 84,478 votes (0.75%), while Alan Kojo Kyerematen came fourth with 31,202 votes (0.28%).

While announcing the results, Mensa described the 2024 election as “credible, fair, transparent, and peaceful,” asserting that the outcome reflected the will of the people.

She highlighted that the success of the election was due to rigorous reforms implemented by the commission over recent years. Mensa also expressed her gratitude to the Ghana Police Service and all stakeholders for their support in conducting the 2024 elections.

Ahead of the EC’s official declaration, Dr Bawumia had already conceded defeat in a brief press conference on Sunday, 8 December. According to him, the NPP’s internal collation had confirmed that the NDC had won both the presidential and parliamentary elections in a “decisive victory.”

Watch Joyce Mogtari's interview below

“I was hoping that the EC chairperson [Jean Mensa] was going to resign yesterday[…] We ought to reset the EC and delete all the partisans who are in there. And she [Jean] herself has displayed enormous prejudice and bias towards the NDC, she should go and I think she ought to… pic.twitter.com/MO79AFkKqW

— CITI FM 97.3 (@Citi973) December 11, 2024

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