The Electoral Commission has denied allegations by former President John Mahama that it hired members of the New Patriotic Party to serve as returning and deputy returning officers for the 2024 election in December.

According to the EC, the process of recruiting returning officers and their deputies was not only made public but conducted in an open, fair and transparent manner. 

In a press statement, the EC revealed that they made a publication of the vacancy announcement in the Daily Graphic on the 5th of February, 2024, after which the Commission received a total of 20,561 applications. 

“An in-house Committee was established to shortlist suitable applicants to be interviewed. For the information of the general public, all successful applicants at the interview have no less than 8 years of working experience with the Commission as Temporal Election Officials.”

“The allegation by former President Mahama that Ministers and DCEs were asked "to write the names of party apparatchiks and present them so that they would be appointed as the returning officers" IS NOT TRUE. The Commission rejects this unfounded allegation coming from the former President,” the statement read.

This comes after the NDC presidential candidate John Mahama in an interview at the London School of Economics and Political Science accused the government of playing party politics with the Commission.

The EC is thus urging all stakeholders to approach information dissemination and communication in this election year with accuracy and responsibility.

“As a Commission, we reaffirm our commitment to spearheading transparent, credible, and fair elections - upholding the highest standards of integrity as we commit to protecting the sanctity of Ghana's electoral process.”

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The Electoral Commission also issued a strong rebuttal to allegations by former President John Dramani Mahama regarding the commission's integrity and conduct.

The Commission pointed to the constitutional provision for the appointment of its members and recalling instances during Mahama's presidency where similar concerns were raised regarding appointments made by him.