President Mahama’s appointment of Emelia Afi Agbenyo as a Deputy Chairperson of the Electoral Commission raises a question that no impressive CV can answer: why burden an institution requiring public confidence with an avoidable controversy over political allegiance?
The appointment is confirmed; reports identify her previous NDC campaign role and circulating posts supporting Mahama.
Her competence is not the central issue. Neither is there any need to accuse her of intending to manipulate elections. She may possess exceptional ability and impeccable personal integrity. The concern is whether appointing someone publicly associated with one competitor demonstrates sound judgement when the office requires credible impartiality towards every competitor.
Even an angel should not arrive at the referee’s table wearing yesterday’s campaign jersey.
Good governance requires attention to actual, potential and perceived conflicts of interest. An electoral commissioner must exercise independent judgement. Citizens must also have reasonable grounds to trust that judgement. Appointments that create foreseeable doubts impose an unnecessary credibility burden on both the appointee and the institution.
Constitutional authority answers who may appoint; wisdom addresses whom they should appoint.
Mahama has instructed the new deputies to treat everyone fairly and give his government no preferential treatment. That assurance is welcome. But presidential instructions cannot erase a publicly established political association or substitute for careful selection. Trust should be protected at appointment, rather than repaired through speeches afterwards.
The consequences extend beyond partisan argument. Where confidence deteriorates, routine administrative decisions become suspected schemes. Genuine mistakes become alleged conspiracies. An accurate electoral verdict may encounter rejection because citizens distrust the people delivering it.
That creates a foreseeable national security risk: heightened tensions, inflammatory mobilisation and potentially violent confrontation. Such outcomes are neither inevitable nor justified. Political leaders nevertheless have a duty to avoid supplying unnecessary fuel.
This standard must apply equally to the NDC, the NPP and every future government. Yesterday’s questionable appointment cannot legitimise today’s. Institutional damage does not become acceptable because opposing parties take turns inflicting it.
The President should reconsider this appointment and explain the safeguards used to assess political impartiality. Ghana has capable citizens whose selection would inspire broader confidence.
The nation deserves an electoral referee whose appointment does not begin with an argument about which team she supports.