‘EC has become a clear and present danger in Ghana’s democracy’ — Kofi Bentil

The Electoral Commission of Ghana (EC) has become a "clear and present danger" to the country's democracy due to alleged mismanagement of state resources, according to IMANI Africa.

In a Facebook post on Monday, May 6, IMANI's senior vice president Kofi Bentil claimed the EC's operations are "needlessly costing Ghana millions of dollars".

"We have raised many issues regarding their operations which needlessly cost us millions of dollars. Unfortunately our politicians are unwilling for obvious reasons to deal with the issues regarding the EC,” he added.

Bentil's remarks come after IMANI petitioned the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) to investigate the EC over accusations of misappropriation and wastage of funds.

In an 18-page petition filed last week, IMANI argued the EC's handling of Ghana's election equipment amounts to "misappropriation, wastage and misuse" of critical national assets.

It alleged the EC replaced functioning technology dating back to 2011 in order to "facilitate undue commercial profiteering".

IMANI further claimed the EC disposed of old devices via an opaque auction process instead of properly assessing each item.

The think tank is asking CHRAJ to probe whether the EC complied with procurement rules and protected state resources.

It also wants an independent assessment of the EC's claim that existing technology was obsolete.

Meanwhile, in an earlier response, the EC maintained the auction of 2012 equipment was done legally.