The debate over the makeup of Ghana’s Deputy Electoral Commission Chairperson Emelia Agbenyo has taken another turn. Political commentator Solomon Owusu has claimed that the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) has put one of its own (Madam Agbenyo) on the commission only after concluding that it could not get rid of the existing commissioners altogether.
Speaking on Joy Prime TV on Saturday, October 17, 2026, Owusu argued that the NDC’s approach was shaped by a practical limit: sacking every commissioner was never a realistic option. In his telling, adding party-friendly appointees was the fallback once a clean sweep proved out of reach.
“The NDC realised they can’t sack all the EC Commissioners, so they had to add theirs to it,” he said.
Reaching back to the Akufo-Addo years
Owusu did not stop at the NDC’s conduct. He pointed to the precedent set under former President Nana Akufo-Addo, whose appointment of Jean Mensah to the EC he said had left him scandalised at the time. He recalled being astonished that the then-President could appoint someone he described as a known NPP member, patron, IT person and communicator for the party, much like himself, and then defend the decision publicly.
In his view, that choice did lasting harm to the institution.
“If there’s anybody who has tainted the Electoral Commission it’s none other than Nana Akufo-Addo, and the records must reflect it,” he said.
He conceded that two wrongs do not make a right, but argued that, going by the Appiahene case, the NDC’s actions stand on equal footing with what came before. If the NDC is doing the same thing, he asked, why the uproar?
The Electoral Commission organises Ghana’s elections, so its credibility underpins public faith in the results. Any change to its leadership or membership is therefore read through a political lens, and perceptions of partisan influence, whether or not they are justified, can damage trust in the process.
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Owusu’s account of the NDC’s motives is his own interpretation. He has offered no evidence of what actually drove decisions on the commissioners, and the claim has yet to be tested against the facts. Still, the exchange shows how disputes over EC appointments quickly become contests over precedent, with each side pointing to the other’s record.
The row underlines the need for transparency in how commissioners are chosen and removed, and for clear safeguards on the commission’s independence regardless of which party holds power. As the discussion continues, the reasoning behind any changes to the commission remains a matter for public scrutiny.