Lawyer and Senior Vice-President of IMANI Africa, Kofi Bentil, has expressed doubts about the neutrality of whoever is appointed to replace former Electoral Commission (EC) Deputy Chairperson Bossman Asare.Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile programme on Saturday, 20th June, Mr Bentil argued that the current system of appointing Electoral Commission leaders makes it virtually impossible for a truly neutral individual to emerge.According to him, there is “zero chance” that the next appointee will be politically neutral, claiming that the replacement is likely to be affiliated with the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC).“There is zero chance that they are going to appoint somebody who doesn’t have NDC sympathy,” he said. Mr Bentil maintained that while the appointment process is provided for by law, it creates room for political influence and undermines public confidence in the independence of the Commission.He argued that politicians often find ways to advance their interests through existing structures, making it difficult to guarantee impartiality in key democratic institutions.” We have a structure which is really problematic as it stands. This is what the law says, but the politicians will play it,” he noted. The IMANI Africa Vice-President reiterated his call for reforms to the appointment process, insisting that Electoral Commission leaders should be vetted and approved by Parliament to strengthen the Commission’s independence and credibility.