Madam Emelia Afii Agbenyo's EC Appointment; CODEO and Others Must let Ghana's Living Constitution Breathe; Their 'Noise' Suffocates Article 70

It appears the observing lenses of the Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO) recently got an 'ophthalmological' realignment and sharpened to now see clearly under the transparent governance of H.E. John Dramani Mahama and Naana Jane Opoku Agyeman and the vision of president Mahama that many right thinking Ghanaians and the world are hastily buying into, just like many scarce commodities in the market during COVID pandemic and months leading to Ghana's 2024 general election.

Had I known that CODEO had a mouth and voice and not its only observing eyes, I would have vehemently doubted it. But here we are! Passionately silent voices over the years on electoral appointments since Afari Gyan's retirement have miraculously awakened. No blame at any doorstep, for 'RESET' can mean different mindset and actions to different people and groups, including 'owners' of electoral eyes. So, finding a voice after years of enthusiastic silence must not be news, I guess.

One would have also thought that the over a thousand lawyers recently called to the Bar in Ghana and the extravagant spectacle given to their graduation ceremony would have bestowed a clearer vision to some legal practitioners who have joined the discourse calling for the withholding and now the resignation of Ms. Emelia Afi Agbenyo to appreciate the supremacy of the constitution of Ghana. For if their partisan tongues continue to give them away, at least they should be reminded and guided by the judicial wigs they carefully selected to carry on their varied head shapes, that the constitution is a living document and must not be suffocated, particularly when the president's power to appoint an EC chairperson rests in the belly of Article 70 of the 'Breathing' document.

What a voice they have suddenly acquired if they lost it many years back, including when Nana Akuffo Addo unapologetically appointed not a single, duo, or even trio but more Electoral Commissioners and directors known and perceived to be strongly related to the New Patriotic Party (NPP), including close family relation to high ranking party members, as with all due respect in the case of Jean Mensah's husband who is a founding member of the NPP, unless he has since ceased to be, owing to the turmoil in the party's hierarchy currently?

Article 43 (1 and 2) of the 1992 Constitution states that, “there shall be an Electoral Commission which shall consist of a Chairman, two Deputy Chairmen, and four other members.

If indeed the constitution is a living document, why are certain individuals and groups, including certain legal practitioners bent on periodically suffocating the constitution’s organs, provisions and what it frowns upon for their selfish interests?

Article 70 of the Constitution vests in the President the authority to appoint any of the seven commissioners. Why, then, should it be news that the President has fulfilled this constitutional duty after two key deputy positions became vacant following the resignation of Dr. Bossman Eric Asare and the retirement of Samuel Tettey?

The Commission comprises seven members: Chairperson Ms. Jean Adukwei Mensa; Deputy Chairpersons Ms. Emelia Afi Agbenyo and Dr. Joseph Kwaku Asamoah, both sworn in on October 12, 2026; and members Ms. Adwoa Asuama Abrefa, Rev. Akua Ofori Boateng, Hajia Salima Ahmed Tijani, and Dr. Peter Appiahene.

These legal practitioners, whose vision once resembled CODEO’s when it suited their agenda, have also polished their lenses and now claim to see Ms. Emelia Afi Agbenyo from afar, clearly enough to demand her resignation. President Mahama’s reset appears to have revived voices that remained silent for years about the recently resigned Deputy EC Chair, Dr. Bossman Asare, who is believed to have served as a patron of the NPP’s Tertiary Students Confederacy (TESCON). He is also on record as calling for the NDC ban because he viewed the party as a threat to Ghana’s democracy. But did he perform creditably as Deputy EC Chair before resigning? The record is there for all to assess.

While the NDC, then in opposition, voiced concerns about Dr. Bossman Asare’s impartiality, Rev. Akua Ofori Boateng, Hajia Salima Ahmed Tijani, and Dr. Peter Appiahene were equally labeled NPP sympathizers before assuming office as EC commissioners. Nana Akufo-Addo appointed all three at the same time under the NPP government, exercising the authority granted by Article 70 of the 1992 Constitution.

A March 23, 2023, article on mordernghana.com captioned "NDC raise concerns over appointment of three new EC Board Members" quoted Mr. Kofi Adams, then MP for Buem constituency and former national Youth organizer of NDC to have said " The appointment of another TESCON/NPP member [Dr Peter Appiahene] on to the Board of Members of the EC is a clear indication of the president's intention to manipulate elections in the country." He was referencing Nana Akuffo Addo then as the president.

The question is, did the NPP succeed in manipulating the election, and did president Akuffo Addo succeed in doing so, as Mr. Kofi Adams observed? The vigilance of the NDC and Ghanaians did not create a fertile ground for any act of manipulation to manifest. Even if it did, it was not ripe enough to win power for the NPP, particularly with the overwhelming win of president Mahama and NDC chalked.

The NDC must welcome the complaint from the NPP just as they complained in opposition and must always remind Ms. Emelia Afi Agbenyo to serve Ghana and not the NDC. Her neutralizing effect on the sight of many NDC lovers and those who cannot stand the perceived NPP affiliation of some members of the electoral commission board and were fed up with Jean Mensah's continuous errors and inconsistencies in the electoral process, must not expect Ms. Emelia Agbenyo to tilt the electoral bar deliberately against any party in the country's elections. She no longer belongs to NDC as she once did. Her qualifications and hard work earned her the position and endorsement by the Council of State and not the NDC.

The NPP, meanwhile, must move beyond perpetual complaints and press conferences that increasingly ring hollow, especially after factchecking. It should follow due process and use the proper channels to address suspicions rather than react impulsively. If the party genuinely believes Ms. Afi Agbenyo’s appointment threatens its legitimate interests, it should remain vigilant, not to pursue improper aims. The NDC was vigilant in opposition, and the NPP can be too if it puts its house in order and restores genuine internal democracy.

Moreover, the legal practitioners, CODEO and others on the sideline vociferously shouting on the airwaves in an effort to impose their thinking on the masses, must understand that Ms. Emelia Afi though reported to have had a stint with NDC, brings to an already packed NPP wheeled Commissioners, rich qualification and experience in planning and a check and balance addition. One would have expected those castigating the president to have known what she is worth before initiating their hypocritical agenda, for the days of selective noisemaking are gone; completely driven away by records of those who initiate and amplify those noises.

But as in the golden voice of a once upon a time chairman who was known for equally making 'noise' on the airwaves with clarion calls but now with a voice insulated by thick walls of his abode to hardly penetrate and reach the masses, "Whom am I" to stop the noise when the recently reinforced law banning preaching and selling in a moving vehicle is not applicable to preaching the law or prohibits intentional selling of hypocrisy and partisan propaganda on the airwaves, including in moving vehicles, for I am yet to be preached to on the law that makes it illegal for Ms. Emelia Afi Agbenyo to assume a vacant EC chairperson position that the law requires it filled.

If the NPP and CODEO and others are still grieving about the appointment of Ms. Emelia Agbenyo and want her to resign, they can reach out to Dr. Peter Appiahene, Rev. Akua Ofori, Hajia Salima Ahmed Tijani, and Ms. Jean Adukwei Mensah to beg them to resign too. This will give president Mahama the opportunity to exercise Article 70 of the 1992 constitution again to appoint other qualified Ghanaians to fill the five commissioners’ slots should they be happy to oblige.

However, if the argument is on ethical and moral grounds, then we are all privileged to be in a democratic bus that set off in 1992 and still journeying with clear side mirrors and crisp vision to look back on the road of history, where Electoral Commission's appointment history, including the date Ms. Charlotte Osei, former EC Chairperson was appointed as a reference point till present to guide our sentiments and decisions leaping into the future of Ghana's electoral democracy, where humans should be our less concerns but systems, data, and networks driven by Artificial/Super Intelligence and governed by Cybersecurity must be our non-negotiable opportunities and chief concerns.

I rest my PEN.
Mustapha Alhassan
Pennsylvania, U.S.A.