The Minority caucus has stated that if Jean Mensa, Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, does not appear before the House as directed by Speaker Alban Bagbin last week, she will be brought before the Parliament’s Privileges Committee.
The Minority Caucus, which claims to be opposed to the Constitutional Instrument (CI) that is currently before the House and seeks to make the Ghana Card the sole document for voter registration, insisted that Mrs. Mensa be present, so the Speaker requested her presence.
According to NDC lawmakers, the EC Chairperson doesn’t respect Parliament, so she won’t be in the House to answer questions about the CI.
However, the assertion has been refuted by the Ghanaian Electoral Commission (EC).
The Chairperson was required to be represented in Parliament by her two deputies because she had been invited to participate in an election observer mission in Nigeria, according to the Commission.
“For the attention of the General Public, the EC received a letter from Parliament on Wednesday 22nd February 2023 inviting the Commission to brief the leadership of the House on the draft Cl on the registration of voters on Thursday 23rd February 2024,” the statement continued.
A ranking member of the Interior and Defense Committee of the Parliament, Mr. James Agalga, stated that the action of Jean Mensa is discourteous in response to the news that the EC Chairperson is not within the jurisdiction and may not be able to appear before the House.
“We have a Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, and we are discussing very important matters that affect the integrity of the voter register compilation. Therefore, it raises serious concerns that the head of that organization would not appear before Parliament without first providing us with a plausible explanation for her absence. In this instance, the NIA’s boss was the counterpart of the EC, so why do you think we should tolerate the EC? Furthermore, we assert that Jean Mensa has consistently refused to attend meetings or accept House invitations. Because she is ultimately accountable, he stated, “We require her personal attendance before the House so that any assurances will come from her own mouth.”
Mr. Agalga stated to host of JoyNews’ The Pulse Blessed Sogah that “you cannot treat Parliament like that” regarding the possibility of the EC Boss’s absence. If you will, parliament is considered to be the people’s representatives—the heart of our democratic experiment.
I have informed you that her incessant absence is disrespectful. First and foremost, it has been promised that she will appear. We will seriously escalate our actions if she doesn’t, including sending Jean Mensa to the Privileges Committee to be investigated for contempt of Parliament.
