That burst of uncontrollable laughter you heard last week was the euphoric New Patriotic Party celebrating the ouster of Mrs. Charlotte Osei as Chairperson of the Electoral Commission.
The NPP never thought this “momentous” day —- the day of reckoning for Mrs. Osei will come; for some strange reason, it held steadfastly to the notion that the former EC boss stood between it and political nirvana,, electoral victories.
Ever since she was appointed by former President John Mahama to run the EC, Ms. Osei had been in the cross-hairs of the NPP which abused, disparaged, hounded and bullied her, in addition to calling her all the names under the sun. The party vowed not to rest until she was toast — dismissed. Well, the party can rest easy now. Mrs. Osei has been exorcised from the system.
Her sins, as alleged by her NPP tormentors, included among other allegations, acting as a shill for the National Democratic Congress and diverting state funds. The first allegation as spurious and mischievous as it was, essentially drove the NPP’s relentless, almost obsessive ad hominem attacks on Mrs. Osei.
Ironically, it was Mrs. Osei, who presided over national elections that restored the political fortunes of her accusers. And, lest we forget, the NDC, her supposedly paymaster and benefactor, lost the elections badly.
The second allegation which stipulated that Mrs Osei helped herself to public money is dubious at best; the evidence is flimsy, weak and couldn’t stand close scrutiny in court. All one can surmise at this stage is that Mrs. Osei has been the victim of male chauvinism.
The sad fact is that there are some leading male politicians in our country who are still trapped in the 18th century; they just can’t bear the sight of a powerful woman leading an agency that more or less controls their political fortunes.
I don’t know about you, but I think our country is at a crossroads. The dust has hardly settled on the vexing Ghana Identification Card issue, only for the nation to contend with yet another highly charged issue, the dismissal of a controversial public official.
I hesitate to say that the intersection of these two issues could have ramifications far beyond Nana Akuffo Addo’s term. Coming on the heels of the introduction of the controversial and vexing Ghana Card, the decision to fire Mrs. Osei, at once looks poorly timed, ill-advised and calculated to boost the political standing of the ruling party. Her dismissal was done for political expediency and that is the underlying truth.
The firing of Mrs. Osei tells more about President Addo than her. From all indications, Mr. Addo is fast gaining a reputation as someone who spoils for a fight, however disruptive it is to our political system. But so long as there is a political advantage, Mr. Addo is more than willing to engage his opponents. Ultimately, it is the nation that pays the price.
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