A new nationwide survey has revealed broad public backing for Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie’s decision to halt removal proceedings against the leadership of the Electoral Commission (EC) and the Special Prosecutor.
The poll, conducted by Global InfoAnalytics between February 21 and 24, 2026, found that a significant proportion of Ghanaians agree with the Chief Justice’s determination that the petitions seeking the removal of EC Chairperson Jean Mensa and her deputies — Dr Bossman Eric Asare and Mr Samuel Tettey — did not meet the constitutional threshold required to initiate formal proceedings.
According to the findings, 47 percent of respondents agreed with the Chief Justice’s ruling that the EC officials had no case to answer, while 30 percent disagreed. Twenty-three percent of those surveyed remained neutral.
The controversy stems from petitions submitted on November 25, 2025, when President John Dramani Mahama referred seven petitions against the EC leadership and three separate petitions against Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyebeng to the Chief Justice for advice.
The petitions alleged cronyism, abuse of office, and gross incompetence. One of the petitions, filed by EC staff member Joseph Blankson Adumadzie, contained twelve counts accusing the Commission’s leadership of eroding public trust and undermining Ghana’s electoral credibility.
However, in a letter addressed to the Presidency dated January 26, 2026, Chief Justice Baffoe-Bonnie concluded that none of the allegations met the constitutional standard necessary to trigger removal proceedings. The decision was made public on February 18.
Explaining his position, the Chief Justice stated that even if the Commission’s actions were considered “erroneous, controversial, or suboptimal,” such issues did not automatically amount to stated misbehaviour or incompetence under the Constitution.
He further noted that the concerns raised in the petitions largely related to matters of constitutional interpretation, administrative judgment, and institutional responses to complex transitional arrangements, rather than conduct severe enough to justify removal from office.
The survey also revealed notable partisan dynamics.
Among supporters of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), whose party figures had been vocal in calling for the EC leadership’s removal, 59 percent agreed with the Chief Justice’s decision, while 25 percent disagreed.
Voters aligned with the New Patriotic Party (NPP) were more evenly split, with 39 percent agreeing and 31 percent disagreeing. Floating voters showed 48 percent support for the ruling.
On the matter concerning Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyebeng, 48 percent of respondents supported the Chief Justice’s conclusion that he also had no case to answer.
Support was strongest among NDC voters at 61 percent, followed by floating voters at 47 percent, NPP voters at 43 percent, and supporters of other political parties at 49 percent.
The poll sampled 3,191 respondents across 83 constituencies in all 16 regions of Ghana. It was conducted at a 95 percent confidence level with a margin of error of ±2.24 percent.
The findings suggest that, despite the political tensions surrounding the petitions, a significant portion of the Ghanaian public supports the Chief Justice’s interpretation of the constitutional standards governing the removal of independent office holders.
