The Akufo-Addo government has wondered why former President John Mahama keeps “bastardising” the Jean Mensa-led Electoral Commission with aspersions that cast doubt on the credibility and neutrality of the election management body since it got a new boss.
Responding to the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) flag bearer’s demand for explanations about the hacking of the EC system during the 2016 general elections, Mr Oppong Nkrumah wondered why Mr Mahama never made such a request when Mrs Mensa’s immediate predecessor, Mrs Charlotte Osei, was in office.
“On the former president’s call, it’s a bit interesting that that call never came through until there was a new EC Chair”, Mr Oppong Nkrumah told journalists on Monday, 20 May 2019, adding: “It’s just an interesting point that during the tenure of the former EC Chair, we never heard him [Mr Mahama] make this request: that details of their system being hacked, etc., should be put out there”.
Earlier this month, Mr Mahama demanded answers from the EC concerning the alleged hacking into the election management body’s IT system which prompted a halt of the electronic transmission of results in the 2016 election.
Mr Mahama said he believed a full probe into the hacking was needed to enable the EC implement counter-measures to prevent similar occurrences in the future as the 2020 general elections approach.
“During the last Presidential Election in Ghana, the Electoral Commission directed its staff to stop using the electronic result transmission system to communicate results to the tallying centre because the system had been compromised.
“The results had to, therefore, be tallied manually, leading to attendant tensions in the delay of the announcement of the final results.
“As I speak, I am not aware that the Electoral Commission has carried out any investigation into what compromised their IT system. And even if they have, we, the stakeholders, the political parties, have not been briefed on what caused the corruption of the system.
Source: classfmonline.com
