Skip to main content

Mahama confused - EC

Jean Mensa – Chairperson of EC
A Deputy Director of the Electoral Commission (EC) in charge of operations has denied former President John Mahama’s allegation of hacking in the last elections.

Mr. Samuel Tettey, who was the Director of Elections during the 2016 elections, said the former President got it all wrong regarding the electronic transmission of results, which he said was not what was agreed upon as Mr. Mahama implied.

The EC, he said, does not understand his allegation because a report about the elections does not mention anything like hacking.

The law, he said, stated that the manual transmission was to be the mode of transmitting results and not the electronic medium, adding that “the electronic transmission was not to be used to declare results.”

Talking about the last elections with an unquestionable institutional memory of the EC where he has worked for many years, Mr. Tettey said that staff of the election management body were not even trained and primed for the handling of the electronic transmission of the election results.

“The EC was not prepared for the electronic transmission of results,” he added.

He also highlighted some of the challenges the commission faced a few days to the polls.

Speaking to DAILY GUIDE editors during a visit to the newspaper house, he painted a disturbing picture of a commission, whose house was not in order a few days ahead of the crucial elections.

“Two to three days to the election, we were still purchasing equipment for the transmission,” he said.

‘Hacking?’ he asked rhetorically.

“I don’t know what he meant,” he said in reference to the former President’s haranguing about a perceived hacking of the election results.

“A consultant was brought from Zambia or so by the EC to advise the institution about the electronic transmission of results, but because of the inherent challenges being experienced during the trials the man advised against it,” he said.

The then EC Chairperson, Charlotte Osei, was insistent on using the electronic transmission for the transmission of results, regardless of the consultant’s advice and what the parties had agreed.

He said the man abandoned the project and left for his country because the EC wanted the electronic transmission at all costs, but the consultant realized it was not going to work.

The refusal of Charlotte Osei to heed good counsel about the unfeasibility of the electronic transmission mode and the eventual frustration of the Zambian consultant and his departure from the country is another example of the unilateralism with which she managed the EC.

It would appear that there was something about the electronic transmission of results which inured to her interest and others, hence her insistence on it, regardless of the general opposition to it. 

Former President John Mahama, in a presentation in Oxford, claimed the last elections were rigged in the favour of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential candidate, adding that the system was hacked.

His claim of hacking of the system was in consonance with the former EC Chairperson because she also told Ghanaians during the restless moments of the wait for the declaration of the results that the system had been hacked and compromised.

 Source: dailyguidenetwork.com

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Invest your profits back into farming - COCOBOD boss to Cocoa Farmers

Joseph Boahen Aidoo is Chief Executive Officer of COCOBOD The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Joseph Boahen Aidoo, has charged cocoa farmers to be business minded in operating their farms and to partake fully in the various programmes introduced by COCOBOD to ensure good farm yields and to increase profits. "Good farming practices, like pruning, the timely application of fertilizers and proper pests control are essential at all times," he said. Joseph Boahen Aidoo stated this while interacting with farmers in the Ashanti and Brong Ahafo Regions, on the first day of his week-long tour of cocoa farms across the county. He was accompanied by the Deputy Chief Executive of Operations at COCOBOD, Dr Emmanuel Opoku, as well, as Directors and Research Scientists from COCOBOD. The tour is aimed at assessing the level of farmer participation in the various farm productivity improvement programmes implemented by COCOBOD; it is also...
Post a Comment
Read more

Two staff at Office of Special Prosecutor investigated for stealing fuel

Martin Amidu, Speacial Prosecutor Two employees of the Office of the Special Prosecutor have been indicted for allegedly stealing fuel. Accountant, Peter Owusu Afriyie and Secretary to the Special Prosecutor’s office, Joseph Dasanah, drew almost ¢10,000 worth of fuel monthly even though they are not entitled to it, JoyNews has sighted a memo. A memo from the then acting Head of Investigations, Julius Zodanu, to the Special Prosecutor, detailed how Joseph Dasanah –Amidu’s secretary, and an accountant, both signed for fuel coupons even though, as unconfirmed staff on secondment, neither of them was entitled to it. The memos showed further discrepancies with Joseph Dasanah’s fuel claims, JoyNews Kojo Yankson has found out. The secretary allegedly stole some 5,300 cedis worth of claims. In one day, he made two fuel claims – ¢400 and ¢300 for his 2018 Toyota Corolla, a vehicle whose tank can only take ¢250 to ¢300 worth of fuel at full capacity. Independent assessments show a 2018 Toyot...
Post a Comment
Read more

Bird flu hits Accra, Volta and Central Regions

  The Food and Agriculture Ministry through its Veterinary Services Directorate has confirmed the outbreak of the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza disease, otherwise known as Bird flu in some parts of the country. These are the Greater Accra, Central, and Volta Regions. The outbreak of the disease follows the detection of similar cases in neighboring countries since January 2021.  The Ministry in a press statement said “Through effective surveillance and disease control management, the Veterinary Services Directorate has prevented the extension of the disease into Ghana until now.”  Cases of the Bird Flu disease were previously recorded in 2007, 2015, 2016 and 2018, with a significant economic impact on affected poultry farmers.  It said, “The zoonotic nature of the disease calls for public alert and vigilance to mitigate the possible impact on the poultry industry and public health in general.”   Accordingly, the Ministry announces the following measures ...
Post a Comment
Read more