Charlotte Osei appointed Chairman of Electoral Commission

President John Dramani Mahama has, in accordance with Article 70(2) of the 1992 Constitution, appointed Mrs. Charlotte Osei as Chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana.

A statement signed by Chief of Staff Julius Debrah said Mrs. Osei who replaces Dr. Kwadwo Afari Gyan was until her appointment the Chairperson of the National Commission for Civic Education.

Mrs. Osei, a lawyer with considerable experience in public service management, institutional reform also has expertise in corporate law, banking, insurance, project financing and public-private partnerships.

The new EC Chairperson holds a Masters in Law (LLM) from Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada and a Masters in Business Leadership from the University of South Africa, Pretoria. She obtained an LLB (Hons) from the University of Ghana in 1992.

Prior to the appointment, Mrs Osei was the founder and Lead Counsel of Prime Attorneys, a leading law firm in Accra. She is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Ghana Commercial Bank Limited and the Ghana Reinsurance Company Limited.

Mrs Osei had earlier served as a Senior Legal Officer for the Ghana Commercial Bank and as a Company Secretary/Legal Adviser for the Unibank Ghana Limited.

Charlotte Osei has significant experience in several facets of Law with particular specialization in Corporate/Business Law, banking, investment and employment law.

Mrs Osei was appointed as the Chairman of the National Commission For Civic Education in 2011 to replace Mr. Larry Bimi, who died in July that year, a post she has held to date.

Her announcement as the new EC boss does not come as a surprise because she is one of the names that have been speculated in the media as possible replacements for Dr. Kwadwo Afari-Gyan. Other persons that have been mentioned in relation to the EC’s job included, the Chairman of the Commission of Inquiry into Ghana’s Participation in the Brazil 2014 World Cup, Justice Senyo Dzamefe, as well as the Executive Director of the Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG), Dr. Emmanuel. Others are Justice Alhaji Saeed Kwaku Gyan, justice of the Court of Appeal, Mrs. Georgina Opoku Amakwaah and her colleague Amadu Sulley, both Deputy Commissioners of the EC.

Dr. Kwadwo Afari-Gyan is retiring from the EC after almost two decades as Chairman of the National Electoral Commission.