Former Electoral Commission (EC) Chairperson Charlotte Osei has somewhat hit back at former Majority Leader in Parliament, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, over his recent claim that businessman Ibrahim Mahama played a role in the release of the 2016 presidential election results.
In a social media post, Charlotte Osei shared a news report quoting Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu’s allegation that Ibrahim Mahama intervened in the release of the results.
Responding to the claim, she wrote, “Eight years later … and the lies continue unabated!”
She posted this alongside the headline: “Ibrahim Mahama intervened in release of 2016 presidential election results – Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu.”
Speaking in an interview on Kessben FM in Accra on Friday, September 5, 2025, Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu alleged that the official declaration of the 2016 presidential election results was deliberately delayed by then-EC Chairperson Charlotte Osei.
He claimed it took the intervention of chiefs, pastors, and businessman Ibrahim Mahama, brother of President John Dramani Mahama, to prompt the EC to release results confirming Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as the winner of the polls.
According to him, the EC at the time cited a supposed “systematic hack” as justification for withholding the results, an explanation he described as questionable.
He argued that the delay fueled anxiety and heightened political tension across the country.
“The Electoral Commissioner was reluctant to release and declare the 2016 election results, all in the name of systematic hacking, as the EC Chairperson claimed,” he said.
Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu accused the EC under Charlotte Osei’s leadership of “perpetuating riot” by dragging its feet, stressing that the country’s peace was put at risk, though Ghanaians remained calm despite the uncertainty.
He also warned against equating Charlotte Osei’s removal from office with the current controversy surrounding Chief Justice Gertrude Torkonoo, insisting that “it is like mixing apples with oranges.”
Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu maintained that internal controversies within the EC justified Charlotte Osei’s dismissal, alleging bitter divisions between the Chairperson and her deputies, which he claimed undermined the institution’s effectiveness.
