President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has said the dismissal of the Electoral Commissioner, Charlotte Osei and her two deputies was not out of malice.

According to the President, the ousting of Madam Osei though a painful one but was done within the laws of the land stating that he acted upon the recommendations of a committee set up by Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo as mandated by the Constitution and there is nothing more to it.

Speaking on the issue for the first time at a town hall meeting with Ghanaian resident in Nouakchott, Mauritania the President said he acted within the law in removing Mr Osei, Amadu Sulley and Georgina Opoku Amankwah.

“In the last six months, the committee has been investigating allegations of corruption against Charlotte Osei and her deputies. The committee completed its findings last week and concluded that Charlotte Osei and her two deputies erred,” President Akufo-Addo explained.

He added: “Based on Article 146 (9), the Committee recommended that Charlotte Osei and her deputies should be removed from office…I could not oppose the Committee’s recommendation because I have no such powers…The law requires that I obey the recommendation by the Committee, and that necessitated the dismissal of Charlotte Osei and her deputies… This is our constitution.

“…We all need to understand that Charlotte Osei and her deputies were not dismissed out of hatred or malice. Those who brought the petition were employees of the Electoral Commission, so I plead with Ghanaians to work together to find persons who will be transparent to work as electoral commissioners,” Akufo-Addo stressed.

The EC chair, Charlotte Osei along with her two deputies, Georgina Opoku Amankwaah and Sulley Amadu were fired by the President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

Minister of Information, Dr. Mustapha Hamid, in a statement issued Thursday, June 28, 2018, announced the removal from office of Charlotte Osei and her two deputies- Georgina Opoku Amankwaah and Sulley Amadu- for misbehaviour and incompetence.

The removal is on the recommendation of a committee set up by the Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo to investigate alleged acts of corruption, misconduct and misbehaviour by the three commissioners, the statement indicated.