The Council of State has given the green light for the President’s nominees for the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC) and her deputies.
PrimeNewsGhana's source says the approval was given after at meeting of the Council of State in Accra on Thursday July 26, 2018.
President Akufo-Addo nominated the Executive Director of the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), Mrs. Jean Adukwei Mensa, to be considered for appointment as the new chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC).
The President also nominated three other persons, two to be considered for appointment as Deputy Chairpersons and one as a commission member.
A press statement signed and issued by the Chief of Staff, Akosua Frema Osei-Opare on Monday July 23 mentioned Mr. Samuel Tettey, the Director of Elections at the Electoral Commission and Dr. Eric Asare Bossman, Head of Political Science Department of the University of Ghana as the two who are being considered for appointment as deputy chairpersons.
The fourth person who was being considered for appointment as a Member of the Commission was Ms. Adwoa Asuama Abrefa, a corporate legal practitioner.
The statement by the Chief of Staff said President Akufo-Addo in a letter dated, Thursday, July 19, 2018, sought the advice of the Council of State, in accordance with Article 70(2) of the Constitution.
The development follows the removal from office, on Thursday, June 28, 2018, of the former Chairperson of the EC, Mrs. Charlotte Osei, and the two deputies, Mr. Amadu Sulley and Mrs. Georgina Opoku Amankwaa, by President Akufo-Addo, after the Committee established by the Chief Justice, Justice Sophia Akuffo, to investigate petitions brought against them, recommended their removal.
Again, the retirement from office of Mrs. Pauline Adobea Dadzawa, a Member of the Commission, on Monday, April 30, 2018 also required the appointment of a new person to fill the vacancy in the Commission.
The statement said President Akufo-Addo was "hopeful that the Council of State will discharge its constitutional duty expeditiously, to enable him make these critical appointments to this very important institution of State".
Exactly a week after the nomination, the Council of State has approved the four to the electoral body of Ghana.