|
IGNORE 'SHORTLIST'
ON NEXT EC BOSS …PROF OQUAYE
Ghana’s former Second Deputy Speaker of
Parliament, Prof Mike Oquaye, has challenged
the basis for the limited names being
bandied about as possible replacement for
the outgoing Chairman of the Electoral
Commission.
With about 20 months to the next
Presidential and Parliamentary elections,
Ghanaians have become anxious about who
takes over after Kwadwo Afari Gyan, who is
scheduled to retire in June.
Already, there are six names making the
rounds in the media as possible replacement
for the outgoing Chairman, Dr. AfariGyan.
The names are current Deputy EC
Commissioners Georgina Opoku Amankwah and
Amadu Sulley, two Court of Appeal judges,
Justice Senyo Dzamefe and Justice Kofi Gyan,
Charlotte Osei, Chairperson of the NCCE, and
Dr Emmanuel Akwetey of IDEG, the civil
society group.
“But whose shortlist is it that is making
the rounds?" the former Deputy Speaker, who
is also the Chairman of the NPP Legal &
Constitutional Affairs Committee poses the
question.
“Looking at the very recent experience from
Nigeria next door, and our own experience,
any shortlist that does not include
respected names in the academia, like the
current crop of Vice Chancellors, makes me
nervous. In any event, I think it is way too
premature to be talking about a shortlist
now. To me a shortlist defeats the whole
debate about broad consultation before the
appointment,” the former MP for Dome
Kwabenya and High Commissioner to India
argues.
He is convinced that the people behind
pushing this shortlist in the public space
have an agenda and it would be wrong for the
country, particularly, the media, to be
hoodwinked into accepting the names without
scrutiny as a matter of fact.
“Someone out there is playing smart with us
and deliberately narrowing our attention and
point of reference to this shortlist they
have created and pushing down our throat.
Whose list is it? If it is from the Council
of State, they should tell us. If they have
already made up their minds they should be
kind enough to let us know so we can advise
ourselves accordingly”, he says.
With the 2012 election petition fresh in the
minds of Ghanaians, and anxiety growing over
the integrity of the 2016 race, the renowned
political science professor and respected
jurist is happy that the nation has finally
bought into calls for broader, open and
transparent consultation in choosing Afari
Gyan’s replacement.
“I am aware that the chairmen of the various
political parties with representation in
parliament, including the chairman of the
ruling party, are all supporting the need
for consultation on this important
appointment. So, my question is, if we all
agree to consultation before appointment,
then where from this so-called shortlist?
Having a shortlist makes nonsense of prior
consultation.”
To him, “the Council of State selects for
the President to appoint. This situates the
consultation squarely in the domain of the
Council of State. So what we must now focus
on is how the Council of State will go about
doing the consultation. What is the
framework? Who are the stakeholders to be
consulted? What is the criterion for the
selection? These are more important issues
for now than putting the cart before the
horse with this shortlist.”
There are seven members of the Commission,
including its Chair. Currently, four are
women and three men. The women are Paulina
Dzadzawa, Rebecca Adjalo, Saadatu Maida and
Georgina Amankwa. Bringing in another woman
from outside to chair the EC will increase
the number of women at the top to an
unprecedented five.
Prof Oquaye, an academic of no mean repute,
is advocating for the searchlight to shine
"brighter, deeper and wider" onto the pool
of academics, Ghanaian academics, in and out
of the country.
Ghanaians were impressed with the calibre of
academics who headed the Nigerian polls last
March and April. The Chairman of INEC and
all Returning Officers of the 36 States and
the Federal Capital Territory were
University Professors or Vice Chancellors.
"There is a high calibre of men and women
within the academia and it would be sad for
that not to be taken into account. We are
looking for a Chairperson who has the
confidence, integrity, fortitude and
patriotism to do just Ghana's bidding, pure
and simple," he underlined.
Prof Oquaye is emphasizing on the need for
"broader and wider consultation", saying the
personality of who leads the Commission
should be determined by "an objective
standard that no reasonable person can
disagree with. We are in the process of
adding flesh to our Constitution and it is
in this light that we must understand the
calls for open and transparent consultation
process. This must include the making
transparent the criterion for the selection
by the Council of State."
Throwing out names without an acceptable
criterion is inefficient, he argues. “What
matters now is the process of selecting and
appointing the person. And, none of us is
clear how this shortlist came about. We must
resist it and call for a broadening of the
debate,” he added.
“Let us look beyond these five and cast the
net wider. But even before that, let us
agree on the framework for the
consultation,” he stressed.
|
