BY Grace Zigah
The controversy surrounding the Electoral Commission (EC) has taken a new turn with the interdiction of Joseph Blankson Adumadzie, the EC staffer who petitioned President John Dramani Mahama to remove Chairperson Jean Mensa and her two deputies, Dr. Bossman Eric Asare and Samuel Tettey.
Joseph Adumadzie, who filed the petition under Article 146 of the 1992 Constitution citing 12 grounds of alleged misconduct, has disclosed that his current absence from work is due to an ongoing interdiction related to Biometric Verification Devices (BVDs).
Speaking on Citi Eyewitness News on November 24, 2025, Joseph Adumadzie clarified that his decision to challenge the leadership of the EC was not motivated by personal grievances over his interdiction.
“For a while now I don’t go to work. I have not resigned, I have not been sacked. I am on an interdiction. It’s a whole lot,” he said, explaining that the interdiction arose from unproven allegations linking him to old BVDs reportedly found in a refuse dump.
He insisted the claims were false and stressed that the legal action taken against him by the Commission failed in court.
“They sued me and couldn’t prove anything. And for one year I won the case, and I have sued them,” he noted, highlighting that the litigation had been ongoing for over a year without resolution.
The staffer emphasized that his petition to President Mahama was anchored on concerns about the integrity and accountability of the EC, rather than personal anger.
In his petition, Adumadzie accused the top EC officials of cronyism, abuse of office, and gross incompetence—allegations he says have eroded public confidence in the institution and threaten Ghana’s electoral credibility.
Adumadzie called on the President to refer the petition to the Chief Justice to determine whether a prima facie case exists, in line with constitutional procedures.
The petition comes amid a growing political backdrop, with the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and civil society groups already voicing concerns over repeated electoral mismanagement, including unresolved parliamentary election disputes and controversial spending on the biometric voter registration project prior to the 2020 elections.
Observers note parallels with previous constitutional interventions, including the removal of former EC Chairperson Charlotte Osei and her deputies in 2019 under allegations of procurement breaches, and the recent ouster of Chief Justice Gertrude Araba Torkorno.
Some warn that the current petitions, combined with Joseph Adumadzie’s interdiction, could further strain public trust in the EC, especially as Ghana prepares for upcoming by-elections and the 2028 general elections.
