#FixTheCountry Movement withdraws impeachment petition against Jean Mensa, deputies

The petition from the #FixTheCountry Movement’s 46 signatories, which sought to remove Jean Mensa as chair of the electoral commission and her deputies, has been withdrawn.

After a protracted wait for institutional action on the petition, the petitioners stated in a press statement on Friday, July 14, 2023, that they had lost trust in the process’ integrity.

The petition, which was submitted in January 2022, claimed that the Electoral Commission had engaged in gross misconduct by denying the right to vote in the 2020 parliamentary elections to the residents of Santrokofi, Akpafu, Lolobi, and Likpe.

According to the petitioners, the Chief Justice purposefully postponed taking action on the case.

“We the petitioners, after two years of seeing various constitutional officers fail to live up to their constitutional responsibilities in this matter, have become convinced of a lack of interest or urgency in pursuing the justice of our plaint and have as such lost faith in the integrity of the process,” the petitioners said in the press release.

“The refusal to act on the petition was due to a deliberate and collaborationist decision by the then Chief Justice to hide behind contrived proceduralism in order to allow room for the frivolous filibustering devices of Madam Jean Mensa.”

The petitioners said they had decided to withdraw the petition in order to “exercise our democratic right to withdraw this petition, in order that the Constitution will no further be mocked by the indolence of actors who have been assigned the task of its protection.”

“In reaching this decision, we have considered the best interest of our democracy, and taken further account of our refusal to lend ourselves to any process that will ultimately be used to whitewash clear evidence of egregious misconduct. In addition, we see no reason why we should participate in the persistence of what has so clearly become a charade.”

Read the full press release below:

Press Release

Friday, July 14, 2023

Withdrawal of the SALL Petition for the Removal of the Chair and Deputies of the Electoral Commission

Yesterday, after nearly 2 years of waiting for institutional action on the impeachment petition brought against the Chairperson and Deputies of the Electoral Commission of Ghana, we the 46 petitioners formally notified the President and the Chief Justice of our intention to withdraw the petition.

As you may be aware, as far back as 10th January 2022, 46 petitioners convened by #FixTheCountry petitioned the President regarding the egregious misconduct of the Chairperson and Deputies of the Electoral Commission through which the citizens of Santrokofi, Akpafu, Lolobu and Likpe were denied the right to vote in the 2020 parliamentary elections.

Since the petition was forwarded to the Chief Justice, we have witnessed contrived gestures that for us signal a clear intention to undermine or extinguish the constitutional mechanisms for accountability and judicious conduct.

The refusal to act on the petition was due to a deliberate and collaborationist decision by the then Chief Justice to hide behind contrived proceduralism in order allow room for the frivolous filibustering devices of Madam Jean Mensa.

We the petitioners, after 2 years of seeing various constitutional officers fail to live up to their constitutional responsibilities in this matter, have become convinced of a lack of interest or urgency in pursuing the justice of our plaint and have as such lost faith in the integrity of the process.

We feel compelled to exercise our democratic right to withdraw this petition, in order that the Constitution will no further be mocked by the indolence of actors who have been assigned the task of its protection. In reaching this decision, we have considered the best interest of our democracy, and taken further account of our refusal to lend ourselves to any process that will ultimately be used to whitewash clear evidence of egregious misconduct. In addition, we see no reason why we should participate in the persistence of what has so clearly become a charade.

Yours in the service of our democracy
The Petitioners