How Ibrahim Mahama, Chiefs and Pastors Forced EC to Announce 2016 Results – Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu

Former Majority Leader of Parliament, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, has alleged that the Electoral Commission (EC) deliberately delayed the declaration of the 2016 presidential election results under questionable circumstances.

Speaking in an interview on Accra-based Kessben FM on Friday, September 5, 2025, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) stalwart revealed that it took the intervention of traditional rulers, religious leaders, and businessman Ibrahim Mahama—brother of then-President John Mahama—to persuade the EC Chairperson, Charlotte Osei, before the results were eventually announced in favour of Nana Akufo-Addo.

According to him, the EC at the time claimed its systems had been hacked, a justification he described as a ploy that unnecessarily heightened political tension across the country.

“The Electoral Commissioner was reluctant to declare the 2016 election results, citing systematic hacking as the reason. This delay was fueling unrest and threatening national peace. Yet, Ghanaians remained calm throughout the period,” he stated.

Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu further argued that the strained working relationship between Charlotte Osei and her two deputies created an unhealthy environment for managing elections. He maintained that such issues justified her eventual removal from office, stressing that conflating her case with the removal of the Chief Justice, Gertrude Torkonoo, was misleading.

He concluded by noting that key political figures, including former Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu, were well aware of the persistent conflicts within the EC’s leadership at the time.