NDC defends new EC deputies as NPP questions political ties
The opposition says alleged links to the governing party could undermine confidence in Ghana’s electoral body. The NDC argues that supporting its election campaign does not automatically make someone a party member.
Ghana’s governing National Democratic Congress has defended President John Dramani Mahama’s appointment of two deputy Electoral Commission chairpersons after the opposition questioned their political neutrality.
The president swore in Emelia Afi Agbenyo and Dr Joseph Kwaku Asamoah on Monday, October 12, 2026.
The New Patriotic Party says alleged links between one of the appointees and the NDC could weaken trust in the commission. The governing party disputes suggestions that the new officials would act on its behalf.
The disagreement centres on whether previous involvement in a party’s electoral activities compromises the perceived independence of officials appointed to oversee elections.
Speaking on Accra-based Joy FM on Thursday October 13, the NDC’s director of elections and IT, Rashid Tamakloe, said professionals who supported the party during the 2024 elections were not necessarily party members.
He said law lecturers and medical doctors were among those trained and deployed to support the NDC’s electoral work in various regions.
“Just because at that moment they wanted the best for this country, you cannot come today and tell me that they are NDC members,” he said.
Tamakloe also argued that some people holding sensitive government positions were not known party members and did not hold NDC membership cards.
The NPP’s objections focus on in Emelia Afi Agbenyo’s alleged role as an NDC manifesto spokesperson on governance during the 2024 election campaign and reported previous work as a personal assistant to Mahama Ayariga.
The NPP’s communications director, Dennis Aboagye, speaking on the same programme said electoral administration depended on trust between the commission and competing political parties.
He argued that consultations and negotiations over election arrangements could become more difficult if parties believed an official was aligned with a political opponent.
Aboagye cited previous disputes over electoral arrangements, including ballot boxes, as examples of the sensitivity of those relationships.
“This country doesn’t deserve this kind of embarrassment. It is needless,” he said.
He maintained that the government could have avoided the controversy by giving greater consideration to concerns about political neutrality.
The dispute has renewed debate over the perceived independence of Ghana’s Electoral Commission and public confidence in its work.