Former Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) chief executive Professor Otchere Addai-Mensah has criticised President John Dramani Mahama’s administration over the appointment of Affi Agbenyo as Deputy Chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC), questioning the government’s commitment to political neutrality.
In a Facebook post titled “Mahama’s Reset in Crisis: When Principle Becomes a Casualty of Power”, Prof Addai-Mensah accused the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) of reproducing political practices it had previously condemned when the New Patriotic Party (NPP) was in power.
“If President Mahama’s reset means that the NDC can reproduce everything it condemned under the NPP, then Ghana did not vote for change in the 2024 election; it merely changed the custodians of hypocrisy,” he wrote.
He argued that the NDC could not justify the appointment by citing the previous NPP government’s appointment of Dr Peter Appiahene, whose alleged partisan affiliations had also attracted criticism.
“Another government’s questionable precedent is not a moral licence; it is an opportunity to demonstrate that one can do better,” he wrote.
Prof Addai-Mensah said the Electoral Commission was not a political reward and stressed that its constitutional independence must be accompanied by public confidence in the impartiality of its leadership.
Article 46 of Ghana’s 1992 Constitution provides that the Electoral Commission, in the performance of its functions, shall not be subject to the direction or control of any person or authority.
The former KATH chief executive acknowledged that Agbenyo’s political history did not establish that she would act improperly but argued that it raised questions about the wisdom of her appointment.
“The issue is not merely whether an appointee can be impartial, but whether the President has exercised sound judgment in protecting the institution’s credibility,” he wrote.
He also questioned whether the NDC’s earlier objections to Electoral Commission appointments under the NPP had been based on principle or political convenience.
Prof Addai-Mensah challenged the governing party to consider whether it would accept an NPP administration appointing a prominent party spokesperson, such as Dennis Miracles Aboagye, to the same position.
“If not, its present defence collapses under the weight of its own inconsistency,” he wrote.
He said the government’s reset agenda should involve rejecting partisan practices rather than replacing individuals associated with one political party with those associated with another.
“A principle that binds only your opponents is not a principle; it is hypocrisy with a political manifesto,” he added.
