Charlotte Osei has taken a swipe at allegations levelled against her in a petition sent to President Akufo Addo by a lawyer Maxwell Opoku Agyemang, on behalf of some unnamed staff of the commission.Â
Charlotte Osei says the contents of the said ‘petition’ are frivolous, baseless and are actuated by malice and ill will, adding that the allegations in her view, are nothing but a product of an overactive evil imagination, and do not deserve any serious attention.
Some staff of the Electoral Commission [EC] of Ghana on July 19 filed a petition against the Chairperson calling for a full-scale investigation into alleged misconduct and abuse of office on her part.
The concerned staff in a petition claim her decision to cancel a contract awarded to Superlock Technologies Limited (STL), a company contracted to supply and manage Biometric Voter Registration machines (BVRs) and the Biometric Voter Devices (BVDs), as well as her directive for the payment of $76,000 to IT firm, Dream Oval, were fraudulent and hence she should be removed from office.
Charlotte Osei following the petitioned ordered her legal team to consider suing the petitioners for defamation and also demanded their names are made known to her.
In a follow-up statement from Charlotte Osei, she said “I have my full responses ready for each and every allegation made in the so-called petition. However, in deference to His Excellency the President of the Republic, for whom I have the highest levels of respect, I would respectfully wait to be formally informed by the Presidency before I make my responses public.â€
Below is the full Statement.
ALLEGATIONS AGAINST ME ARE BOGUS
(Accra, 21/07/2017) My attention has been drawn to a litany of phony allegations made against me by a certain Maxwell Opoku Agyemang in a supposed ‘petition’ on behalf of unidentified person(s), asking for my removal from office.
The contents of the said ‘petition’ which has been widely circulated on social media and published by the mainstream media, are frivolous, baseless and are actuated by malice and ill will. These allegations are in my view, the product of an overactive evil imagination, and do not deserve any serious attention.
I wish to state categorically that all the defamatory allegations are outright lies and without any merit whatsoever.
I understand from the media that the Presidency has received the alleged petition. I have my full responses ready for each and every allegation made in the so-called petition. However, in deference to His Excellency the President of the Republic, for whom I have the highest levels of respect, I would respectfully wait to be formally informed by the Presidency before I make my responses public.
I take the opportunity to express my heartfelt appreciation to the staff of the Electoral Commission, political leaders from the various political parties, and members of the general public for the overwhelming support shown to my family and me so far. I am absolutely certain that once again, history and the truth will vindicate the just.
I am absolutely certain that once again, history and the truth will vindicate the just.
The political motive hunting would not serve the greater purpose. The 'motiveless malignity' behind this Petition are self-seeking and faceless individuals with the sole motive of satisfying their purely personal vendetta against my person and protecting illegal financial interests.
Finally, the Electoral Commission is an independent governance institution, non-partisan and with full protections for its officials under the 1992 Constitution of Ghana. I would wish that the political actors would respect the constitutional framework provided for the Commission and support in upholding the supreme interest of the Commission for the wider interest of our democracy. Thank you.
Thank you.
Signed
Charlotte Osei (Mrs.)
Chairperson
Electoral Commission Ghana