Group petitions Mahama to remove EC chair Jean Mensa

A group calling itself, Positive Transparency and Accountability Movement-Africa (PTAAM-Africa), has petitioned President John Dramani Mahama, seeking the removal of Electoral Commission (EC) Chairperson, Mrs. Jean Mensa, and her deputies from office.

The petition, filed pursuant to Article 146 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana, cites three key grounds for the removal: financial loss to the state, creation of a constitutional crisis, and misconduct and abuse of public office.

According to the petition, the procurement of a new biometric voter device and the compilation of a new voter register before the 2020 general elections caused significant financial loss to the state, amounting to millions of taxpayer dollars.

The petition argues that this expenditure was unnecessary, as the 2016 voter register and biometric devices were robust and fit for purpose.

The petition also alleges that the current EC leadership, under Madam Jane Mensa, knowingly created a constitutional crisis through actions and inactions leading up to the 2020 presidential and parliamentary elections.

Specifically, the decision to mandate a new voter registration exercise during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic endangered public health and exposed millions of Ghanaians to life-threatening risks.

Also, the petition grounds its allegations on misconduct and abuse of public office by Madam Jane Mensa and her deputies, including Mr. Eric Bossman Asare.

These issues include gross incompetence, bias, procurement breaches, and poor corporate governance, all of which undermine the principles of free, fair, and transparent elections.

This development comes after a previous petition seeking the removal of Madam Jane Mensa and her deputies were withdrawn by the petitioners, citing a lack of interest or urgency in pursuing the justice of their plaint.