Rashid Tanko Computer, Deputy Director of Elections and IT for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has rejected calls by the Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO) for Electoral Commission Deputy Chairperson Emelia Affi Agbenyo to resign over concerns about her political association.
Tanko argued that applying the standard being proposed by CODEO could make it difficult for Ghana to retain Electoral Commission officers, insisting that political support for a party does not automatically make a person unsuitable for public service.
“If that is the tangent they want us to go, we won’t have officers in this country,” he said on TV3.
He maintained that President John Dramani Mahama had been consistent in his position on appointments to the Electoral Commission, arguing that Agbenyo’s involvement in the NDC’s 2024 campaign did not make her an unsuitable choice for the position.
Tanko said several people who supported the NDC during the election had done so because they wanted a change of government, rather than because they were established party activists.
“So if they are called to come and support the state in different capacity, why should we be asking for their resignation?” he asked.
He added that Agbenyo’s competence had not been the focus of the criticism, arguing that the debate centred on her political association.
