Ghana’s Electoral Commission (EC) has denied reports that some 200,000 field staff who worked during the 2020 general election have not been paid.
The country’s election management body has therefore described the reports as false and an attempt to malign and impugn the integrity of the commission.
Former Minority Leader and Member of Parliament (MP) for Tamale South, Haruna Iddrisu first made the allegation on the Floor of Parliament last Thursday.
However, in a statement, the EC has debunked the claim, insisting that it has to date paid all staff who worked during the 2020 elections.
“The attention of the Electoral Commission has been drawn to an article making the rounds in the media to the effect that the EC has not paid some 200,000 field staff who worked on the 2020 Elections. This is false. The EC has to date paid all staff who worked during the 2020 elections.
“For the records the EC in a bid to ensure transparency and accountability in the use of public funds, instituted a system whereby field staff were paid through their bank accounts. This was a departure from the previous practice where huge sums of money running into several millions were carried in bags for the purpose of paying staff in the field across the country.
“For the 2020 elections, all payments to field staff were done through the bank accounts. Indeed, an opportunity was given for correction of wrong account details supplied throughout 2021. All persons who corrected and resubmitted their correct account numbers were duly paid. The records to this effect are available.
“We therefore ask the public to ignore the statement that the EC has not paid its 2020 elections field workers as it is false. As always it is an attempt to malign and impugn on the integrity of the EC. It will not succeed.
“We wish to state that any person or groups of persons claiming non-payment by the Commission for work done during the 2020 elections do not exist. They are ghosts”, the EC’s statement concluded.
