The Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO) has called on Ms. Emelia Affi Agbenyo to resign as Deputy Chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC), citing her documented political engagement with the National Democratic Congress (NDC) during the 2024 general election campaign.
In a press statement, the Coalition, which comprises over 41 member organisations, expressed strong disapproval of Ms. Agbenyo’s appointment and swearing-in on Monday, October 12, 2026.
It said that although the President has the constitutional authority to make appointments, her public political activity compromises perceptions of the Commission’s independence, impartiality and institutional credibility.
“The integrity of the Electoral Commission depends not only on the actual neutrality of its commissioners, but on the public’s absolute confidence in that neutrality,” CODEO stated.
CODEO said the NDC announced Ms. Agbenyo in August 2024 as one of its sectoral spokespersons for the party’s 2024 election manifesto, under the governance portfolio.
It added that her LinkedIn bio lists her role as Governance Sector spokesperson during the NDC campaign among her key achievements.
The Coalition also pointed to her social media activity.
On September 20, 2024, she posted on Facebook a video featuring the then NDC Presidential Candidate, accompanied by the party’s campaign song, “Asempa” by NACEE, and the hashtags #a_democracy_to_salvage and #voteforchange2024.
On October 31, 2024, she posted a photograph of John Dramani Mahama, then the NDC Presidential Candidate, with a caption calling for the salvaging of democracy and the restoration of good governance.
The post carried the hashtags #voteJM2024 and #voteforchange2024.
On December 2, 2024, she wrote on X that she would be voting against a government that ridiculed the pains of the people, adding that imposing a nuisance levy on citizens was not something to celebrate. That post carried the hashtags #salvageourdemocracy, #voteforchange2024, #VoteJohnMahama2024 and #EndTyranny.
Council of State criticised
CODEO said it has consistently called for a broader consultative process in appointing EC members since the exit of Dr. Kwadwo Afari-Gyan as founding Chair, beyond the dictates of Article 70(2) of the 1992 Constitution.
It said it made such calls during the appointments of Ms. Charlotte Osei, and later Mrs. Jean Mensa, Dr. Bossman Asare and Mr. Samuel Tetteh, but the appointing Presidents did not heed them.
In 2023, together with STAR-Ghana Foundation and the Civic Forum Initiative (CFI), CODEO called for the resignation of Dr. Peter Appiahene over his alleged affiliation with the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
That appointment drew condemnation from many groups, including the NDC, prompting then Presidential Aspirant, now President John Mahama, to call for urgent reforms.
The Coalition said the latest appointment also raises questions about the role of the Council of State, noting that the Constitution requires the President to appoint EC members on the advice of the Council, and not in consultation with it.
It said the Council’s consistent failure to develop a transparency process for the public to assess how it performs its duties signals a breakdown in the current constitutional architecture.
CODEO stressed that its concerns are not about Ms. Agbenyo’s professional qualifications or technical competence, but about a principle it says it has applied consistently: that the Commission’s leadership must inspire public confidence in its impartiality, regardless of which party is in government.
It said failure to mitigate perceptions of bias among individual Commissioners has severely affected citizen trust in the EC, which reached its lowest ratings in 2024, according to the Afrobarometer.
It described the repeated failure to use the Presidential appointing power to reset the politics around appointments as “extremely disappointing and frustrating.”
CODEO recalled that in March 2023, while in opposition, President Mahama criticised the appointment of persons he described as “known party activists” to the EC.
He called for an amendment of Article 43(2) of the 1992 Constitution to require parliamentary approval of new Commissioners, and affirmed his commitment to these reforms.
The Coalition said the concerns Mr. Mahama raised then are directly relevant to appointments under his own administration, and that the principles he advocated must be applied consistently in government.
The Coalition made four calls: Ms. Agbenyo should honourably resign as Deputy Chairperson of the EC to protect public confidence in the Commission’s impartiality and credibility.
President Mahama should demonstrate consistency with his earlier position by urging her to resign.
The Government should advance reforms to ensure future EC appointments are transparent, merit-based and able to command confidence across the political divide.
The Council of State should urgently develop processes for citizens to obtain information about how it discharges its national responsibilities.
Call for reform
CODEO reiterated its call for reform of the appointment process for the EC’s leadership.
It noted that the Constitutional Review Committee (CRC) recommended an open, competitive and merit-based process involving a reformed Council of State, the Public Services Commission and prior parliamentary approval.
However, the Government’s Position Paper rejected the proposed changes to the existing arrangement, while indicating that the President could adopt transparent, merit-based procedures.
The Coalition urged the Government to reconsider and pursue reforms introducing independent scrutiny, transparent selection criteria and meaningful parliamentary oversight, so that concerns about actual or perceived partisan influence are addressed before appointments are made, rather than after controversies arise.
“The independence of the Electoral Commission must be protected not only by constitutional provisions but also by a clear commitment of the political class to an independent and impartial electoral management body,” the statement concluded.