ACCRA, Dec 1 (The African Portal) – Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama has received 10 petitions calling for the removal of the heads of two key public institutions and their deputies, the presidency said on Tuesday.
Seven of the petitions target the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC), Jean Mensa, and her two deputies, corporate head Bossman Eric Asare and operations head Samuel Tettey. The remaining three petitions seek the removal of Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyebeng.
The petitions have been forwarded to Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie to determine whether there is a case to answer, according to information confirmed to Graphic Online.
Under Ghana’s constitution, the EC chairperson and deputies are appointed by the president on the advice of the Council of State and enjoy the same conditions of service and removal procedures as justices of the superior courts. They can be removed only for stated misbehaviour, incompetence or incapacity, with petitions first assessed by the chief justice.
If the chief justice finds a prima facie case, a five-member committee of judges and non-lawyers is formed to investigate and make recommendations to the president. All proceedings are held in camera, and the president is bound to act on the committee’s findings.
The Office of the Special Prosecutor Act (2017) outlines a similar removal process for the special prosecutor, including timelines for the chief justice and the investigative committee once a petition is submitted.
It remains unclear who filed the petitions or on what grounds they were submitted. Neither the EC nor the Office of the Special Prosecutor has publicly commented.
