Minister of State in charge of Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, has confirmed that all petitions demanding the removal of the Electoral Commission (EC) Chairperson, her two deputies, and the Special Prosecutor have been formally received by President John Dramani Mahama and forwarded to the Chief Justice for the next constitutional steps.
He emphasised that the President has fulfilled every requirement assigned to him under the law, as he spoke on Joy Midday News.
“Every process that needed to be done has been undertaken. The process for doing so is quite clear. At this stage, the process has left the hands of the president beyond conveying the petitions to the Chief Justice.
There’s little else that the president does in this particular instance. Everything now rests with the Chief Justice, who I believe will act in accordance with Ghanaian law,” he said.
The Presidency has received a total of 10 petitions. Seven of them target EC Chairperson Jean Mensa and her deputies, Dr Bossman Eric Asare, in charge of Corporate Affairs, and Samuel Tettey, responsible for Operations. Three petitions have also been filed against Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyebeng. All have been transmitted to Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie.
Under Article 70(2) of the Constitution, the President appoints the EC leadership on the advice of the Council of State.
Their conditions of service are tied to those of Justices of the superior courts: the EC Chairperson is aligned with a Court of Appeal Justice, while the two deputies share the terms of High Court Justices.
Removals therefore follow the strict procedures set out in Article 146, which require that any petition be referred to the Chief Justice to determine whether a prima facie case exists before further action can be taken.
