The new Constitutional Instrument (CI) proposed by the Electoral Commission (EC) won’t deprive Ghanaians of their right to vote in the general elections of 2024, according to the majority in parliament.
The EC with its new C.I is seeking to use the Ghana Card as the source document for registration onto the voters register.
Addressing the media, the Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsustated that the new policy aims at sanitising the electoral process.
“This is a system that has come to sanitise and purify our system. There are various institutions which recognise the integrity of the National Identification Authority and indeed the Ghana Cards and have resorted to the use of the Ghana Cards,” he said.
The EC is proposing a new constitutional instrument through which it intends to make the Ghana card the sole identification document for voter registration.
The Minority, which is rejecting this move by the EC, is also casting doubts on the capacity of the NIA to issue Ghana cards to all applicants who have registered for the cards.
Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu has accused the Minority in Parliament of fueling mistrust against the Electoral Commission.
This comes after the Minority rejected the justifications given by the Electoral Commission of Ghana (EC) for the new CI seeking to make Ghana card the only identification for voter registration.
Chairperson for the EC Jean Mensa on Tuesday February 28 2023 told Parliament the new CI is to safeguard the sanctity of the electoral process devoid of foreign interference.
Mrs. Jean Mensa also justified the scrapping of the guarantor system. When questioned about the existence of the same system for Ghana card registration, the EC boss argued that system is more robust.
Addressing the media, Minority Leader, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson asked the EC to adopt the NIA system following the claim of the chairperson.
“We are quite sure many of you followed and reported on events in the Chamber last night, which showcased our opposition to an attempt by the Jean Mensa-led Electoral Commission to introduce a Constitutional Instrument before Parliament. The said C.I, the Public Elections (Registration of Voters) Instrument, 2022, seeks to make the Ghana Card the sole document for the registration of voters onto Ghana’s electoral roll.
“What Article 42 of the 1992 Constitution requires, is evidence of citizenship and not evidence or proof of identification. Any evidence of citizenship should therefore qualify a person to be registered. That is why under the current C.I 91 as amended by C.I 126, Ghanaian Passports and guarantor system are allowed as evidence of citizenship,” Mr. Forson stated.
He continued: “Clearly, the proposed C.I which makes the Ghana Card the sole requirement for voter registration serves as a restraint on citizen’s right to register and exercise their franchise in elections. It is important to remind the Electoral Commission headed by Madam Jean Mensah that the Commission is enjoined by the constitution to advance the right to vote and not introduce any law that seeks to curtail same.”
Chairman for Subsidiary Legislation Committee, Dr. Dominic Ayine argued there is not need for a new CI since the existing one used for the 2020 registration is still very potent.
Bawku Central MP Mahama Ayariga berated majority leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu for arguing nobody can stop government business such as the laying of the CI from taking place. He questioned why EC business has become government business
Bolgatanga Central MP Isaac Adongo asked the EC to first wait for the NIA to issue cards to every qualified Ghanaian before tabling the idea of a new CI.
The Minority in Parliament has rejected the justifications given by the Electoral Commission of Ghana (EC) for the new CI seeking to make Ghana card the only identification for voter registration.
Chairperson for the EC Jean Mensah on Tuesday February 28 2023 told Parliament the new CI is to safeguard the sanctity of the electoral process devoid of foreign interference.
Mrs. Jean Mensah also justified the scrapping of the guarantor system. When questioned about the existence of the same system for Ghana card registration, the EC boss argued that system is more robust.
Addressing the media, Minority Leader, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson asked the EC to adopt the NIA system following the claim of the chairperson.
“We are quite sure many of you followed and reported on events in the Chamber last night, which showcased our opposition to an attempt by the Jean Mensah-led Electoral Commission to introduce a Constitutional Instrument before Parliament. The said C.I, the Public Elections (Registration of Voters) Instrument, 2022, seeks to make the Ghana Card the sole document for the registration of voters onto Ghana’s electoral roll.
“What Article 42 of the 1992 Constitution requires, is evidence of citizenship and not evidence or proof of identification. Any evidence of citizenship should therefore qualify a person to be registered. That is why under the current C.I 91 as amended by C.I 126, Ghanaian Passports and guarantor system are allowed as evidence of citizenship,” Mr. Forson stated.
He continued: “Clearly, the proposed C.I which makes the Ghana Card the sole requirement for voter registration serves as a restraint on citizen’s right to register and exercise their franchise in elections. It is important to remind the Electoral Commission headed by Madam Jean Mensah that the Commission is enjoined by the constitution to advance the right to vote and not introduce any law that seeks to curtail same.”
Chairman for Subsidiary Legislation Committee, Dr. Dominic Ayine argued there is not need for a new CI since the existing one used for the 2020 registration is still very potent.
Bawku Central MP Mahama Ayariga berated majority leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu for arguing nobody can stop government business such as the laying of the CI from taking place. He questioned why EC business has become government business.
Bolgatanga Central MP Isaac Adongo asked the EC to first wait for the NIA to issue cards to every qualified Ghanaian before tabling the idea of a new CI.
Managing Editor of the Insight newspaper, Kwesi Pratt Jr. has expressed opposition to the adoption of the Ghana Card as the sole form of identity required for registration as a voter in Ghana.
The Electoral Commission (EC) is proposing a new Constitutional Instrument (C.I.) to replace the existing Instrument (C.I.) in preparation for the elections in 2024 and has asked Parliament for the passage of the new C.I.
The Commission wants the Ghana Card to be used for voting, claiming this will help to avoid irregularities and the guarantor system during the elections.
Contributing to Peace FM’s “Kokrokoo” morning show, Kwesi Pratt questioned the logic in the EC’s argument to remove the guarantor system by the use of the Ghana Card.
“The guarantor system they are saying is not perfect and should be changed, we changing it to use the Ghana Card, the same system is used to do the Ghana Card. So, show me the wisdom in this!” he told host Nana Yaw Kesseh.
He also deflated the argument that the Ghana Card will improve the electoral system stating emphatically “there is no perfect identification card in Ghana. Whether a passport, birth certificate or any other thing, Ghana Card included, there is none that is perfect.”
“Elections are less than 2 years away. How do you insist on using this card which is unavailable?…Go high or low, someone has written his or her name and for 2 years now, the person has not got his or her card. How come such a person vote based on this? Based on the new C.I, how can such a person vote?”, he further asked.
Mr. Pratt concluded that “there is wisdom in opposition to the use of the card”.
Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Jean Mensa, surprisingly pulled up in Parliament today, February 29, 2023.
She was out of town as part of external observers in the ongoing Nigerian Elections.
Prior to Tuesday’s appearance, the Speaker of Parliament had asked the Jean Mensa to appear before the committee of the whole to discuss the Draft Public Elections (Registration of Voters) Regulations, 2023, and the status of the ECOWAS Identification Card (Ghana Card) Registration.
Due to her engagements in Nigeria, she failed to make it to the first meeting her outfit held with the committee, which included the National Identification Authority (NIA), and the EC.
The newly proposed instrument by the EC will make the Ghana Card the only identification document to be used to guarantee citizenship when passed.
On Thursday, the special budget report on the Electoral Commission’s C.I. was laid on the floor of parliament for the house to commence debate on the issue.
During the debate, the Chairperson of the Commission was absent but was represented by the deputy commissioner, Dr. Bossman Asare.
However, the Speaker directed that the Chairperson herself appear before the house after the minority raised concerns over her absence.
The Minority Leader, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson believed that Jean Mensa was to be in the house to give the needed assurance that the new CI before parliament will not disenfranchise Ghanaians among others.
“Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission is not here. I recognise Mr. Speaker, that the Deputy is here, but it is not the same as the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission. As we speak, the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission has consistently avoided parliament.
“We are of the view that we have raised today in this chamber since morning, as serious issues that we prefer and will want the Electoral Commissioner to be here to give us the needed assurances,” Dr. Ato Forson said.
Based on this argument, the Speaker said that the Chairperson herself needed to appear before the house to clarify some of the concerns that have been raised.
According to a member of parliament for Tamale South, Haruna Iddrisu, the Minority will oppose any attempt by the Electoral Commission (EC) to utilize the Ghana Card as the only form of identity for voter registration.
He says any such move by the EC will hurt the right to vote and be voted for.
Speaking on the Big Issue via telephone on TV3 Monday, February 27, the former Minority Leader indicated that there are 3.5million people who are without Ghana Card.
He questioned whether the EC is going to deny all these 3.5 million people from exercising their right to vote because they do not have a Ghana Card.
“There is the right to vote and be voted for, the NDC will defend that right,” he said.
“We are contesting the use of Ghana Card as the sole reference for purposes of getting registered as a voter,” he said.
He stressed “the right to vote and be voted for is sacred. 3.5 million people don’t have the card, can you tell these 3.5 million persons not to vote?”
The Minority have been raising issues against the proposed CI.
On Thursday, February 23, they rejected officials from the EC and the National Identification (NIA) who were in Parliament to brief the House on the proposed CI.
They were expecting Madam Jean Mensa herself to appear.
But a statement issued by the Commission on Monday, February 27 said “The EC received a letter from Parliament on Wednesday, February 22, 2023 inviting the Commission to brief the leadership of the House on the draft CI on the registration of voters on Thursday 23 February 2024.
“At the time the chairperson had traveled to Nigeria at the invitation of ECOWAS/ECONEC for a peer exchange and election observation mission. That notwithstanding Dr Bossman Asare Deputy Chair for Corporate Service attended the meeting together with other directors of the commission.
“Surprisingly, the meeting was canceled as the Minority side insisted on the presence of the EC Chairperson at the meeting. We wish to state that contrary to the news item that the EC chair has returned to Ghana, the chairperson is still in Nigeria. She has not returned to Ghana.”
The EC added “The Commission, especially its chairperson understands the importance of the institution of Parliament having worked with Parliament for two decades prior to her appointment as Chairperson of the EC.
“The Chairperson upholds the institution of Parliament and will therefore not disrespect it in any way.
“The fact remains that the invitation from Parliament was sent a day before the meeting at a time the chairperson was out of the jurisdiction. Had she been aware of the request prior to her travel she certainly would have prioritized the meeting and attended upon the Honourable House.”
Claims that Parliament has passed the Electoral Commission (EC’s) Constitutional Instrument (CI) that seeks to make the Ghana Card the sole document for voter registration are false. This is according to a statement from the House dated February 24, 2023.
In a release signed by the Director of Public Affairs, Kate Addo, Parliament indicated that any such publication is false.
“Parliament states categorically that it has not passed any such Instrument.” the release clarified.
According to the release, Parliament does not pass Constitutional Instruments, adding that “They only come into force with the effluxion of time; that is after 21 days of the Instrument being laid in the House.”
Clarifying what ensued in the House on the 23rd of February, 2023, it stated that “Parliament held a pre-presentation discussion on the CI, to collect input from relevant sources for the drafting of the Constitutional Instrument (Cl).”
They, therefore, urged the media to endeavor to be accurate in their reportage, adding that they can “contact the relevant authorities and officers in case of ambiguity or for further clarification on issues concerning or emanating from the House.”
It would be recalled that the Electoral Commission in September last year, made a move to have the Ghana Card as the sole document for voter registration in the country.
The move agitated the Minority Group and they subsequently opposed the CI, saying it will disenfranchise voters. But the EC insisted that it will use the Ghana Card for voter registration.
According to the electoral management body, the Ghana Card is the most authentic means of identifying Ghanaians, hence the Commission’s decision to use it in compiling a new database of voters.
Subsequently, on February 8, the Minority in Parliament reiterated its strong opposition to the use of the Ghana Card for voter registration. They explained that many Ghanaians may not have access to it in order to register.
Former Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu says the Electoral Commission has sinned against the Constitution by not holding limited registration exercises since 2021.
According to him, this has disallowed some citizens who have come of age, the opportunity to enroll as voters.
He asked to be challenged on his assertion with facts and figures.
“Mr Speaker, for the record – 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, Ghanaians who have attained the age of 18 years have been denied the opportunity to be captured as registered voters. This is a constitutional wrong,” he said.
This situation, he noted, is unacceptable to a country committed to multiparty constitutional democracy.
“Mr Speaker, the right to vote and to be voted for is so sacred. Even for you elected Members of Parliament – one of the minimum qualifications for you to get voted as MPs is to show that you are a registered voter, that is the Constitution imposes in Article 94,” he added.
For this reason, he stated that the “Electoral Commission by virtue of their existing CI have no reason to tell anybody and this August House why they have still failed to capture Ghanaians who have attained 18 years.”
For this reason, the Tamale South MP said the EC must not be allowed to lay its new Constitutional Instrument (CI) in Parliament.
The ECs new CI makes the Ghana Card the only identification document to be used to guarantee citizenship.
The Minority is also opposed to a regulation in the CI which requires persons who want to register to do so at an EC district office.
According to Haruna Iddrisu, these regulations will disenfranchise Ghanaians, thus must not be allowed to go through.
“The Electoral Commission was now informing the Ghanaian public through Parliament that only the national ID card issued by the National Identification Authority (NIA) will be a sole reference document for the purpose of registration. Mr Speaker, that is the intendment of what is referred to as a draft CI,” he said.
“Again, Mr. Speaker, our committee found problems with that designation where it says a district office of the EC or any other place that the Commission considers appropriate. Mr Speaker, throughout history in 1993, since the establishment of the Electoral Commission, voter registration exercise is done at polling stations, not district offices,” he added.
But speaking in defence of the EC’s proposed Constitutional Instrument, MP for Akuapem South, O.B Amoah said the EC is justified in seeking to use the Ghana Card as the sole identity document.
He contended that the guarantor system has been abused, “in the sense that people override, detain guarantee contractors where they join the queue, get registered, they stand by and say that they are waiting for 10 or five people.”
Mr Amoah described the abuse of the guarantor system as a worry and must be taken into consideration.
“… If you look at this report, he seems to acknowledge that the guarantor system has been abused. Even as practitioners, the thought behind the guarantor system was to acknowledge that where a prospective registrant did not have any means of identification, they could fall on their parents, spouses, children to guarantee and sign a form that really I know this person,” he explained.
According to reports, the 16-year-old student took the knife out of their bag before stabbing the instructor in the middle of a lecture.
The attack happened at a private school in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, near Bordeaux (Picture: Metro.co.uk)Police outside the private Catholic school (Picture: AP)Police rushed to the scene this morning (Picture: AFP)
While the motive is yet to be established, LeMonde reported they may have been suffering from mental health issues.
Neither the attacker, nor the victim have been named by authorities.
Pap Ndiaye, the French education minister, confirmed he was on his way to Saint-Jean-de-Luz.
He said in a statement on Twitter: ‘Immense emotion following the death today of a teacher at Saint-Thomas-d’Aquin high school in Saint-Jean-de-Luz.
‘My thoughts go to their family, colleagues and students.’
Pyrénées-Atlantiques senator Frédérique Espagnac said she ‘totally condemns this act of violence against a teacher’.
Meanwhile, local prosecutor Jerome Bourrier confirmed a murder enquiry has been opened.
French government spokesperson, Olivier Véran, told reporters during a press conference the government would support educators across the country in the wake of the incident.
‘I can hardly imagine the trauma that this can represent,’ he said.
A few operational issues at the electoral administration organization have drawn the attention of the Electoral Commission (EC) Senior Staff Association.
This includes among other things, delays in the payment of administrative releases for the last two quarters of 2022, unprecedented delay in the payment of logistics and other services and delay in the payment of allowances for Commissioners for Oaths engaged during the 2020 voter registration exercise.
Other bottlenecks according to the workers are the reduction in the allocation of resources, pre-financing of operational and administrative activities and the outstanding payments for some temporary officials engaged during the District Level elections in 2019 and 2020 general elections.
“The commission’s inability to settle all outstanding administrative releases in full by the 15th February 2023 will cause the hanging of red flags at all offices of the Commission from 16th February 2023 to show our protest”, the employees warned.
The EC staff outlined these six main issues in a statement following a resolution. They explained each concern and likely consequences as follows:
A. DELAY IN PAYMENT OF ADMINISTRATIVE RELEASES FOR TWO QUARTERS FOR THE YEAR 2022 (SIX MONTHS) i. Delay in the administrative releases for fuel, accountable imprest and inability to service and maintain official vehicles. ii. Payment of unrealistic rates of fuel for official vehicles. iii. Current economic conditions make it impossible for Regional Directors, Deputy Regional Directors and District Electoral Officers to Pre-finance fuel for official vehicles and undertake routine servicing and maintenance. iv. Inability to make payments for utilities (water and electricity) for the Offices. v. Disconnection of some offices of the Commission due to non-payment of utility bills.
B. DELAY IN THE PAYMENT OF OUTSTANDING BILLS i. Non-payments for logistics (canopies, tables, chairs, boats, generators etc.) used for the 2020 voter registration exercise, under- taken during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. ii. Logistics needed for the exercise was hired, based on quotas, rates and operational, instructions from the Commission, amidst ‘strong warnings’ of sanctions in the failure to adhere. iii. Payment of only 20% of the total amount submitted for logistics, almost three (3) years after the exercise, which ended successfully for officers to receive commendation from the Commission for a good job done – the registers used for the 2020 elections are in debt. iv. District Electoral Officers are pestered on daily bases with incessant calls from vendors to redeem their debts. v. Some Vendors have sued some District Electoral Officers in the law courts and CHRAJ in attempts to retrieve their monies because Commission is unable to fulfil financial obligations. vi. District Electoral Officers are being verbally abused and even threatened on daily bases for non-payment of bills, making them live in fear. vii. District Electoral Officers have lost all the respect, dignity, goodwill and some favour earlier existed in their districts because the Commission has been unable to honour its part of the agreement. viii. District Electoral Officers are now having issues with their families and friends from whom they borrowed to offset some of the bills due to frustration. ix. District Electoral Officers believe that the Commission thinks the vendors were not truly engaged, hence the commission refusal to pay them.
C. DELAY IN PAYMENT OF COMMISSIONERS FOR OATHS ENGAGED FOR THE 2020 TRANSFER OF VOTERS i. District Electoral Officers were instructed through their Regional Directors to engage the services of Commissioners for Oaths during transfer of voters in the year 2020, and have not been paid allowances after the whole exercise. ii. The Commissioners for Oaths keep harassing District Electoral Officers because they haven’t received their allowance yet.
D. DRASTIC REDUCTION IN THE RESOURCES ALLOCATED FOR OPERATIONAL ACTIVITIES BY THE COMMISSION
I. The Commission has drastically reduced allocated resources since the 2018 Referendum for the Creation Of new regions to date. ii. Fuel for recruitment of officials, organisation of grassroots, training of officials, collection, distribution and retrieval of electoral materials from the regional offices to the district offices to the field has been reduced drastically since 2018. iii. Daily subsistence allowances (DSA) for staff has also seen a reduction per the number of days stipulated for various electoral activities. iv. Resources for hiring of training venue for Training of Trainers (TOT) and grassroots training has been reduced drastically, making the organisation of the training programmes extremely difficult.
E. After the payment of officials for the 2019 District Level Elections (DLE) and the 2020 Presidential and Parliamentary Elections, some officials did not receive their allowances due to errors in their bank account details. The leadership of the SSA have made several appeals to Management to see to it that these officials are paid their allowances. However, it appears that the situation has not seen any change. We wish to make a final appeal to Management to address this issue timely so that we can continue to enjoy the support, loyalty and cooperation of our temporary officials during future exercises.
In view of the above, the National Council, the second-highest decision-making body of the SSA and the mouthpiece for Senior Staff Members at the various regions have resolved to the following:
1. Commissions’ Inability to settle all outstanding administrative releases in full by the 15th February, 2023 will cause the following: a. Hanging of red flags at all offices of the Commission from 16th February 2023 to show our protest. b. Officers would be unable to perform administrative and operational functions that require any financial commitments. c. The National Council of the Association may employ other legitimate and permissible tools under the Labour Laws of Ghana to press on home our demands after hanging of the red flags.
2. All arrears owned to vendors should be paid by Wednesday 1st March 2023, to enable District Electoral Officers have the peace of mind to live and work in their districts. In the event that the commission fails to make payments. a. All calls from vendors will be directed to the Commission. b. Vendors will be directed to the Head Office to claim their monies. c. District Electoral Officers would be unable to engage the services of vendors for subsequent exercise.
3. Resources for operational and administrative activities should be restored to their previous levels; and rates and levels should be determined and communicated to officers before the commencement of upcoming activities. 4. Officers of the Commission would NOT pre-finance any activities under any circumstance.
5. Management should liaise with the Government as a matter of urgency to implement the recommendations made on conditions of service of the staff of Electoral commission by the Twenty (20)- member fact finding Parliamentary Adhoc Committee set up by Parliament on Friday, 28th January 2011.
6. Management should also endeavour to address all these pertinent issues in a timely manner for industrial peace and harmony to prevail, considering the fact that this year is an Election year.
The deputy Communication Director for the governing NPP, Kamal-Deen Abdulai says the former Electoral Commission (EC) boss, madam Charlotte Osei was lawfully removed from office.
According to him, the laws will apply on anybody irrespective of the offender’s status in the country adding that when you flout it you cannot escape the consequences that come with the offends.
His comments come on the back of former President John Mahama questioning how State institutions have been bastardized in the country by the current administration.
Delivering a lecture on “Africa’s Strategic Priorities and Global Role” at Chatham House, London last Friday January 27, 2023, the former President also recounted how the former EC boss was removed.
Commenting on the lecture by the former President on Starr News, Mr. Kamal-Deen stated that it is unfair for former President Mahama to describe the removal of the former EC boss as frivolous on an international stage such the Chatham House.
“No matter who you are, our constitution is clear that no one is above the law and for His Excellency John Dramani Mahama who hascbeen the President of the republic of Ghana before, and who swore according to the constitution of Ghana and swore to uphold all the laws of Ghana.
“It will be very unfair to the system when he says that reasons for the asking of Charlotte Osei from office were frivolous. The question that comes to mind is that was Charlotte Osei taken out of office as a result of due process of the law? As a result, she has relented on her duties and to the extent that she has flouted the laws of this country or not, and if the answer is yes then I think that President Mahama should come again.
“I think it is unfair for a statesman to make such a statement. With the young people growing up we all have learnt that we need to be bonded by the laws of the country. We need to actually work with them and Charlotte Osei.
“The accusations that came for her removal emanated from the same institution, people she was working with. Even Commissioners that were at the same table had problems with her and she had problems with them.”
Mr. Kamal-Deen stated that the former President should not sit anywhere and formulate any story while the accusations and counter accusations from EC under the leadership of Charlotte Osei got her out of office.
“Me I will maintain that no matter how little a law appears and no matter how little a crime appears it is still a crime. So long as it is defined by the law as a crime and if it is punishable and if consequences are to come with them, they are supposed to come with them and of course you will face them as well.”
The general public has been urged by the Ghanaian Electoral Commission (EC) to ignore any job posting purporting to be from the commission.
A statement from the Commission said it is currently not recruiting and that any recruitment advert must be treated as a scam from unscrupulous persons.
“The attention of the Electoral Commission has been drawn to an advertisement circulating on various social media platforms to the effect that the Commission is undertaking a recruitment exercise.
“The general public is informed that the Commission is not carrying out any recruitment exercise.”
“The public is advised to disregard the said advertisement,” the statement added.
Lower Manya Krobo Municipality District Level Elections have been postponed by the Electoral Commission (EC).
“The Electoral Commission wishes to inform the General Public that the Lower Manya Krobo District Level Elections slated for Tuesday 17th January 2023 has been adjourned,” a statement issued by the EC and signed by its Chairperson Jean Adukwei Mensa said.
Following a request for an injunction by two teenagers, the EC postponed the polls.
In a statement, the commission explained, “This has become necessary due to an Application for injunction filed against the Electoral Commission at the High Court in Koforidua,”
The freshly turned 18-year-olds Angel Agyeman and Michael Tetteh claimed that the EC had breached their constitutional right to vote in district-level elections in accordance with Article 33 of the 1992 Constitution.
The adolescents claim that after they turned 18, the EC did not hold a registration drive to allow them to sign up for the elections.
In order to prevent the District Level Elections from taking place, the youngsters applied for an interlocutory injunction.
Prior to the matter’s resolution, a High Court restraining order prevented the EC and its agent from carrying out the elections that were initially scheduled for today, January 17, 2023.
Two teenagers in Lower Manya Krobo Municipality in Eastern Region have secured an interlocutory injunction from the Koforidua High Court against the Electoral Commission from conducting the District level election scheduled to be held on January 17, 2023, in the municipality.
The applicants Michael Tetteh, and Angel Agyemang, both residents of Agormanya and Asitey respectively are restraining the respondent, the Electoral Commission and its agents or officers from conducting the District Level Elections in Lower Manya Krobo until the final determination of the case on violation of their constitutional right to vote in the upcoming elections under article 33 of the 1992 constitution of Ghana.
According to the applicants, the commission has failed to conduct a voter registration exercise to enable them to register having attained 18 years.
Paragraph 8 of the affidavit by the applicants states “that since turning 18, we have not had any opportunity to register to vote or be qualified to be elected as Assembly Members in the Lower Manya Krobo District Assembly.”
They added, “we have been further advised and believe same to be true that our right to vote is likely to be contravened if the Respondent is allowed to conduct the district level elections in Lower Manya Krobo district level election.”
The applicants prayed the court to restrain theElectoral Commission from conducting the elections until the commission conducts the voters’ registration exercise in accordance with article 45(a) of the constitution. The Electoral Commission is mandated to compile the register of voters and revise it at such periods as may be determined by law.
The Municipality was scheduled to hold the district-level election on January 17, 2023 which a total of 127 male candidates are vying to represent their electoral areas whilst 280 are contesting the Unit Committee polls.
The district-level elections was not held for eight years in Lower Manya Krobo due to a dispute between the Municipality and Dangme West District, now known as Shai-Osudoku over 11 electoral areas created at Akuse.
The dispute which started with the defection of some of Akuse assembly members to the then Dangme West District, was, however, settled by a Supreme Court ruling in favour of Lower Manya Krobo.
The election of Assembly members and unit committee members was immediately held in 2013 and subsequent periods however the election has not been coterminous with the national calendar of the electoral commission.
Meanwhile, Konor of Manya Krobo Traditional Area, Nene Sakite in a petition dated 12 December 2022, called on EC to reconsider mainstreaming the district level elections in Lower Manya Krobo with the national routine.
“…we wish to kindly plead and appeal to the Electoral Commission of Ghana to reconsider its decision in the conduct of the Lower Manya Krobo District Level Elections in January, 2023 to enable the district join the nationwide District Level Elections in 2023.”
Former Speaker of Ghana’s Parliament, Professor Mike Aaron Oquaye has called for a review of the appointment of the Electoral Commission Chairperson.
According to him, the appointment of the chair person by the every sitting President in accordance with the constitution, has always created challenges particularly between the two competing political parties.
For him, the EC chair should be elected by a commission members whose decision will be independent of any interferences, 3news.com reports.
“The Commission members being quite independent, not elected by the president or anyone, will then choose a chairperson, so that the work of the commission is collegial and collectives, then they are satisfied.
“In some places, you will find the situation whereby the EC boss is for a fixed term, 6 years, it recently happened in Nigeria. So that after doing a particular work you go, so that in choosing the EC boss it is usually a retired Professor or a Professor about to retire, a judge who is just part of the system, and then you do that work for 6 years, and then you leave,” he is quoted to have said by 3news.com.
Mr. Oquaye further indicated that the proposed selection process will help encourage a peaceful political environment and also safeguard the work of the EC which is to work independently.
“In other words, there is no end to wisdom with regards to what we have got now, nomination by the President and then ultimate approval by Parliament. Of course, if the president has Majority in Parliament, then the approval is as well as his nomination. All these I believe should be examined if we should have a peaceful political terrain, that is what I have ben saying,” he noted.
The President of Ghana has appointment power under the Constitution to appoint the EC chair.
While the framers of the Constitution have imposed varying levels of constraints on the President’s appointment power for democratic, governmental, prudential, and even historical considerations, the President wields both consultative and approval powers.
The President is compelled to act on the advice of the Council of State in selecting the Chairman/Chairwoman and members of the Electoral Commission as stated in Article 70(2) of the Constitution.
“The President shall act on the advice of the Council of State; appoint the Chairman, Deputy Chairmen, and other members of the Electoral Commission,” the constitution indicates.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo says that for the country to continue on its democratic path, it is critical to improve transparency and accountability in governance structures that can combat corruption and the misappropriation of public funds.
Furthermore, theElectoral Commission should work to ensure that all stakeholders in the electoral process – citizens, civil society organizations, and political parties – have no lingering doubts about the legitimacy of an election.
On the eve of Ghana’s 30th anniversary of the Fourth Republic, President Akufo-Addo made the remarks in a televised address in Accra on Friday.
January 7, 2023 marks exactly the 30th Anniversary of the nation’s return to constitutional regime after eight military takeovers.
“By all accounts, we have come a long way, and we should not take it for granted that everybody in Ghana has accepted democracy as the preferred mode of governance.
“There are those who would rather have authoritarian rule, because they claim our country is underdeveloped and democracy is cumbersome, and we need to get things done in a hurry.
“We still have some work to do to convince such people that we are all safer under democracies,” the President pointed out.
The President stated that without any form of equivocation his government had undertaken, arguably, the boldest initiatives since independence to reform and strengthen the capacity of governance institutions to tackle corruption in the public sector, including the financial empowerment of the anti-corruption bodies. He cited, for instance, the passage of the Right to Information Act and the establishment of the Office of the Special Prosecutor to investigate and prosecute acts of corruption.
“As President of the Republic, I assure you that, out of duty to our children and grandchildren, and to generations yet unborn, my government will not give up when it comes to deepening our democracy and guaranteeing the integrity of the electoral process,” he added.
President Akufo-Addo was of the belief that efficient management of the economy would lead to enhancement in the standards of living of the people and ensure prosperity for all.
“We must do everything within our means to safeguard our democracy,” he stated.
“Tomorrow’s milestone is to the great credit of you, the Ghanaian people, the ordinary men and women who make up the fabric of our nation. Thirty (30) years ago, all of us resolved to build, under God, a united nation, grounded in democratic values and the rule of law,” the President recalled.
“We have advanced a great deal in realising this vision, and I am confident that, with a spirit of fairness, hard work, integrity and reconciliation, the best days of Mother Ghana lie ahead of us,” the President assured.
He observed that although the nation was presently confronted with difficulties in her economic performance, but with collective efforts she would soon surmount the challenges, and back onto the path of progress and prosperity.
“Let us, therefore, continue to work to create the platform for the evolution of a new Ghanaian civilisation, which will give true meaning to the foundational values of freedom and justice on which our nation was birthed,” he stated.
Former Director of the National Service Scheme (NSS) Dr. Kpessa-Whyte has questioned Rojo Mettle-Nunoo on whether he was working for or against John Dramani Mahama in the 2020 elections.
He is of the belief that Rojo might have worked against John Dramani Mahama in the Electoral Commission’s strong room considering how fast he has switched to support Dr. Kwabena Duffour who is hoping to lead the NDC in election 2024.
“Sir with all due respect, your decision to sign a letter suggesting that you are supporting anybody else besides John Mahama did not only raise serious questions but also lacks emotional intelligence. When did you decide not to support John Mahama again given that you were one of his representatives (myself included) in the Electoral Commission Strongroom? Were you representing His Excellency John Mahama to fail in the 2020 elections so you can opt for another candidate for 2024?
Don’t you think you have a moral obligation to stand with John Mahama given your own testimony that the NPP and Nana Addo conspired with the Electoral Commission to steal John Mahama’s victory? I hope these questions will provide you some opportunity to reflect on the implications of your decision,” he said.
Read Kpessa-Whyte’s Letter to Rojo
*Kpessa-Whyte Writes*:
Dear Comrade Rojo Mettle-Nunoo
I wish to make a few remarks and observations about a recent letter you signed on behalf of friend of Dr. Kwabena Duffour to our party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Council of Elders. The letter in question is dated December 23, 2022.
*For the avoidance of doubt, I am an ardent and unrepentant supporter of His Excellency John Mahama and firm believer that he, more than anyone else, is our party’s surest bet for 2024 presidential elections, as well as, the person who has what it takes to lead our country’s “second liberation” struggle.*
Just as I support His Excellency John Mahama, I will respect the choices made by others including you. What is unacceptable is the attempt to play victim in your letter when there is no reason to do that. In your letter, you claim that the organizers of the party’s recent congress gave His Excellency John Mahama undue advantage to market himself over others.
I find your claims to be fallacious at best. The party’s recent congress did not depart from the protocols of previous congresses. As far as I know, since the early 2000s former presidents have always attended and addressed the party’s congress. In my opinion, the organizers and His Excellency John Mahama followed the tradition and that should be applauded rather than condemned.
Sir, your claim is even more problematic given that the party has not given any indications of when presidential primaries will be held let alone open nominations for candidates to file and campaign. Is it your intention to deny Excellency John Mahama his rightful place as former president in the affairs of the NDC just because a member of the party has interest in contesting the presidential primaries?
Sir with all due respect, your decision to sign a letter suggesting that you are supporting anybody else besides John Mahama did not only raise serious questions but also lacks emotional intelligence. When did you decide not to support John Mahama again given that you were one of his representatives (myself included) in the Electoral Commission Strongroom? Were you representing His Excellency John Mahama to fail in the 2020 elections so you can opt for another candidate for 2024? Don’t you think you have a moral obligation to stand with John Mahama given your own testimony that the NPP and Nana Addo conspired with the Electoral Commission to steal John Mahama’s victory? I hope these questions will provide you some opportunity to reflect on the implications of your decision.
I sincerely hope that you will understand why I share my observations about your letter to the Council of Elders in public. Ideally, I would have called to express my concerns privately but since you led the way by sharing your letter to the party’s Council of Elders in public. I cannot but follow your lead.
Sir, note that while we are all free to make choices, in the end, *integrity matters*, so we must all be guided accordingly.
Director of Legal Affairs for the New Patriotic Party, Gary Nimako, has called on former president John Dramani Mahama to, as a matter of urgency, render an apology to Ghanaians on the 2020 election petition.
The outspoken lawyer asserts that the former presidential candidate for the NDC’s 2020 general election wasted state resources on an election petition without facts.
Gary Nimako added that Mahama and the NDC caucus knew they had no evidence but accused the court of being biased against them during the election petition.
“Post-election case, there have been comments here and there that the judges have been biased against them. When, indeed, you know from day one that you have no evidence at all.
“With this revelation having come out to the public domain, I think Ghanaians deserve an apology from the NDC. Especially from former President Mahama to apologise to Ghanaians and the court because if they knew from day one that in fact, they had no evidence at all…Yet they managed to go to court with the hope that they could get Jean Mensa to mount the witness box and cross-examine her.
“They really misled Ghanaians and their supporters, and the way they treated the court. They have to eat the humble pie and apologise,” he told Ernest Kojo Manu on Joy FM’s Top Story on Wednesday.
Lawyer Nimako’s demand follows a leaked tape in which the general secretary of the party, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, revealed that the party did not have enough evidence to contest the 2020 general election results.
In the said tape, Asiedu Nketiah is heard telling party supporters why the director of IT failed to electronically compile the documentation the party required to challenge the results of the presidential election.
The NDC filed an election petition after the 2020 general election accusing the Electoral Commission of stealing the election results for the NPP.
They alleged that NPP won the polls through vote padding, arithmetic and computational errors.
However, the Supreme Court gave the final verdict in favour of President Akufo-Addo and ruled that the NDC had no basis for the petition.
An attack on the Electoral commission office in South-eastern Nigeria, has lead to the killing of three gunmen.
The attackers tried to storm the main Inec office in Owerri, capital of Imo State, police said, on Monday (November 12).
“The Inec headquarters in Owerri was attacked early this morning by gunmen who destroyed part of the building, furniture and equipment,” Michael Abattam, spokesman for the Imo State police told AFP.
An exchange of fire broke out, “three of the attackers were killed and two were arrested,” Abattam added.
Nigerians will elect a successor to President Muhammadu Buhari at the end of February. Buhari, a former army general, is not standing for re-election after two terms in office and a record that is seen as disastrous, with the country in the grip of a severe economic crisis and widespread insecurity.
Several Inec offices have recently been attacked, particularly in the southeast where separatist groups are active.
Inec spokesman Festus Okoye confirmed the attack in a statement Monday, saying it was the third such incident in Imo State in two weeks.
The Inec recently warned of the threat of increased violence during the election campaign, adding that it had recorded at least 50 attacks since the exercise began nearly two months ago.
Although no group has claimed responsibility for the new attack, southeastern Nigeria has seen a large number of attacks attributed to the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) movement.
Ipob, which seeks the rebirth of a separate state for the Igbo ethnic group, has repeatedly denied any responsibility for the violence.
According to local media, more than 100 police and other security personnel have been killed since the beginning of last year in targeted attacks.
In order to implement the idea of using the Ghana Card as the only form of identification for the upcoming limited voter’s registration exercise, the Electoral Commission (EC) must first ensure that a consensus agreement between all parties is reached, according to conflict resolution and peacebuilding expert Emmanuel Bombande.
He claimed that if significant stakeholders, including opposition parties, cannot come to an agreement on the use of the Ghana Card as proof of citizenship before it is implemented, it could lead to unrest during the general elections in 2024.
He explained that issues of citizenship had played a major factor in many conflicts in Africa and that Ghana needed to tread cautiously in order not to disturb the relative peace of the country.
It was on the theme: “Trending conflicts in Ghana: Fertile grounds for violent extremism; A call for action” brought together various key stakeholders in the country to deliberate on the best possible ways to guard the country against violent extremism and terrorism.
The forum was held under the auspices of the Sahel Peace Initiative (SPI), a peace-building project being rolled out by the Catholic Church with funding from the Catholic Relief Services (CRS).
Ghana Card
The EC in a Constitutional Instrument (C.I) yet to be laid before Parliament has proposed the use of Ghana Card as the sole identification document for the upcoming limited registration exercise.
The decision by the EC has brought to the fore concerns by some stakeholders in the electoral process that making the Ghana Card the only form of identification for the registration exercise would lead to the disenfranchisement of many eligible voters.
Notable among the stakeholders that have raised concerns about the use of the Ghana Card is the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).
Mr Bombande noted that consensus building was key to ensuring transparency in the country’s electoral system, hence the need for the EC to engage with all stakeholders in the electoral process for consensus to be reached on the matter before it was rolled out.
IPAC
The conflict resolution expert also cautioned that the gradual eroding role of the Inter Party Advisory Committees (IPAC) in mediating electoral disputes could spell doom for Ghana’s democracy if not checked.
He said IPAC had over the years played a significant role in sustaining the country’s democracy by mediating electoral disputes.
He said, however, that in recent times, the role of IPAC had been relegated to the background; a situation he said should be of concern to all stakeholders who have interest in Ghana’s democracy.
Mr Bombande expressed concern that the relationship of the EC and some political parties, particularly the main opposition party, NDC, had not been the best in recent times.
For him, IPAC presented opportunity for both the EC and the political parties to iron out issues that could hinder fair and transparent elections.
He said, “The role of mediation of election has reduced and so there is so much tension.”
Background
IPAC was formed in March 1994 to bring together representatives of the political parties on a monthly basis with members of the EC to discuss and try to build a consensus on electoral issues.
After several hours of engagements with senior party members, regional executives, aspirants, and the Electoral Commission of Ghana, the National Elections Task Force of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has begun procedures to commence the Eastern Regional elections despite a court injunction.
The decision to move ahead with the elections was arrived at following a last-minute meeting with the Electoral Commission at their head office in Koforidua.
Officials of the Electoral Commission after the meeting subsequently arrived at the Koforidua Technical University, where the elections will be taking place.
Interestingly the Eastern Regional Chairman of the party, John Owusu Amankra popularly known as Jowak who issued a statement acknowledging receipt of the injunction and its subsequent suspension of the election was, however, missing during all the engagements.
Founder and leader of the United Progressive Party (UPP), Akwasi Addae, widely known as Odike, claims the Electoral Commission (EC) is being used as a tool against him.
According to him, the arbiter for all political parties has now turned into a tool for President Akufo-Addo to do as he pleases.
Reacting to the cancellation of his party’s certificate by the EC during an interview with Happy98.9FM’s ‘Epa Hoa Daben’ political talk show, he said, “Jean Mensa was brought in to destroy me by Akufo-Addo. As a party, all our documentations are intact. We have our head office around the Top Radio area and have offices in every region in the country. The UPP had its certificate cancelled because of me and not because we didn’t meet requirements.”
Odike claims he saw this coming as far back as the 2020 elections when Wontumi told him he will be unable to contest in the general elections.
The politician at the initial stages of the election went through all checks and was successfully okayed for the elections. He was even congratulated by the EC Chair, Jean Mensa only to hear in the news he had been disqualified 2 weeks after.
Decrying the unfair treatment meted out to him and his party by the EC, he called on Ghanaians to gather courage and support parties and individuals who speak against the government and its ills.
The Electoral Commission has struck out the names of some 17 political parties from Ghana’s political parties register.
Between May and June 2022, the EC embarked on a nationwide exercise to inspect the offices of all registered political parties in Ghana.
But after the exercise, the EC invoked Section 15 (3) (c) of the Political Parties Act of 2000, Act 574, which mandates it to cancel the registration of Political Parties which do not have offices at the National and Regional levels.
The affected political parties are; the Democratic People’s Party (DPP), United Front Party (UFP), United Development System (UDSP), Every Ghanaian Living Everywhere, Yes People’s Party (YPP), United Ghana Movement (UGM), Democratic Freedom Party (DFP), New Vision Party (NVP), Ghana Democratic Republican Party (GDRP), Ghana National Party (GNP), Power Unity Party (PUP), United Progressive Party (UPP), Reform Patriotic Democrats (RPD), People’s Action Party (PAP), United Renaissance Party (URP), National Reform Party (NRP), United Love Party (ULP).
The Electoral Commission has urged stakeholders, particularly the political parties, to support its proposal to close the 2024 polls at 3 p.m. instead of 5 p.m.
A Deputy Chairman of the Commission, Dr Eric Bossman Asare, said the proposal to close the 2024 polls at 3 p.m. was to prevent electoral violence and ensure that results were declared on time before darkness set in.
Speaking at a multi-stakeholder session to strengthen partnership for the prevention of conflict and violence in elections in Ghana yesterday, Dr Asare said most cases of violence that occurred in previous elections happened in the dark after 5 p.m, hence the proposal to change the closing time to 3 p.m. which had been captured in its new constitutional instrument yet to be laid before Parliament.
“Apart from preventing violence, it will encourage counting to be done early and we will be able to announce and declare the results much earlier.
“The Commission has also said that once you are in the queue at 3 p.m., you will be allowed to exercise your franchise,” he said.
He further urged legislators to approve the new constitutional instrument when it got to Parliament.
Stakeholder engagement
Jointly organised by the National Centre for the Coordination of Early Warning and Response Mechanism (NCCRM), the National Peace Council (NPC) and West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP), the stakeholder engagement seeks to support stakeholders to identify key challenges within the democratic space and proffer solutions to ensure peaceful electioneering processes in Ghana.
The engagement, which was funded by the European Union and the German Development Cooperation (GIZ), is also to strengthen collaboration and partnership among the stakeholders to contribute to peaceful elections and democratic transition in the country.
Representatives from the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice, National Election Response Group, National Commission for Civic Education, National Media Commission, National Security, Ghana Centre for Democratic Development, Institute For Democratic Governance, Youth Bridge Foundation, among other stakeholders were present.
The Director of NCCRM, Col. Joseph Kelvin Merdiema, explained that it had become necessary for all stakeholders to collaborate on how best to approach the 2024 elections.
He added that the implementation of early warning and response systems was crucial to prevent conflict and violence in elections.
The implementation of the early warning and response systems will help to identify risks and vulnerabilities that impact human security in the country and disseminate warnings timely through standardised and reliable communication systems to reach decision-makers and those at risk.
Legacy issues
The National Coordinator of WANEP, Albert Yelyang, underscored the need to address the legacy issues of the 2020 elections such as the pockets of violence recorded in some constituencies to be addressed ahead of the next election.
All stakeholders, he said, must take strategic measures to avoid violence.
He further urged the National Peace Council to build rapport with the political parties and other key stakeholders ahead of the 2024 elections.
Media
The Executive Secretary of the National Media Commission, Yaw Sarpong Boateng, called on all stakeholders who formulate public policy, particularly in relation to public safety, to mainstream media in the discussion, analysis and in their communication.
“Too often, people see the media as an instrument they need to use; what they do not notice is that the same degree of intellectual analysis resides with the media.
“You will fail if you exclude the media from the analysis and think that you can use them when you are done with all the analysis to project your analysis of the situation,” he added.
The Electoral Commission has urged stakeholders, particularly the political parties, to support its proposal to close the 2024 polls at 3 p.m. instead of 5 p.m.
A Deputy Chairman of the Commission, Dr Eric Bossman Asare, said the proposal to close the 2024 polls at 3 p.m. was to prevent electoral violence and ensure that results were declared on time before darkness set in.
Speaking at a multi-stakeholder session to strengthen partnership for the prevention of conflict and violence in elections in Ghana yesterday, Dr Asare said most cases of violence that occurred in previous elections happened in the dark after 5 p.m, hence the proposal to change the closing time to 3 p.m. which had been captured in its new constitutional instrument yet to be laid before Parliament.
“Apart from preventing violence, it will encourage counting to be done early and we will be able to announce and declare the results much earlier.
“The Commission has also said that once you are in the queue at 3 p.m., you will be allowed to exercise your franchise,” he said.
He further urged legislators to approve the new constitutional instrument when it got to Parliament.
Stakeholder engagement
Jointly organised by the National Centre for the Coordination of Early Warning and Response Mechanism (NCCRM), the National Peace Council (NPC) and West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP), the stakeholder engagement seeks to support stakeholders to identify key challenges within the democratic space and proffer solutions to ensure peaceful electioneering processes in Ghana.
The engagement, which was funded by the European Union and the German Development Cooperation (GIZ), is also to strengthen collaboration and partnership among the stakeholders to contribute to peaceful elections and democratic transition in the country.
Representatives from the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice, National Election Response Group, National Commission for Civic Education, National Media Commission, National Security, Ghana Centre for Democratic Development, Institute For Democratic Governance, Youth Bridge Foundation, among other stakeholders were present.
The Director of NCCRM, Col. Joseph Kelvin Merdiema, explained that it had become necessary for all stakeholders to collaborate on how best to approach the 2024 elections.
He added that the implementation of early warning and response systems was crucial to prevent conflict and violence in elections.
The implementation of the early warning and response systems will help to identify risks and vulnerabilities that impact human security in the country and disseminate warnings timely through standardised and reliable communication systems to reach decision-makers and those at risk.
Legacy issues
The National Coordinator of WANEP, Albert Yelyang, underscored the need to address the legacy issues of the 2020 elections such as the pockets of violence recorded in some constituencies to be addressed ahead of the next election.
All stakeholders, he said, must take strategic measures to avoid violence.
He further urged the National Peace Council to build rapport with the political parties and other key stakeholders ahead of the 2024 elections.
Media
The Executive Secretary of the National Media Commission, Yaw Sarpong Boateng, called on all stakeholders who formulate public policy, particularly in relation to public safety, to mainstream media in the discussion, analysis and in their communication.
“Too often, people see the media as an instrument they need to use; what they do not notice is that the same degree of intellectual analysis resides with the media.
“You will fail if you exclude the media from the analysis and think that you can use them when you are done with all the analysis to project your analysis of the situation,” he added.
The Electoral Commission of Ghana has cancelled the certificates of 17 political parties who have no regional and national presence and, therefore, are flouting the laws.
The EC in October gave the parties to the end of that month to prove why their registrations should not be cancelled under the Political Parties Act of 2000, Act 574.
After the expiration of the deadline a notice signed and issued by the Chairperson of the EC, Jean Mensa and published today, November 14, 2022, stated “Pursuant to the publication by the Electoral Commission dated 13th & 17th October 2022, the General Public is hereby informed that the Registration Certificates of the under-listed Political Parties have been cancelled in accordance with Section 15 (3) (c) of the Political Parties Law, 2000 (Act 574) effective the 1st day of November, 2022.”
Below are the parties:
Democratic People’s Party (DPP) United Front Party (UFP) United Development System Party (UDSP) Every Ghanaian Living Everywhere (EGLE) Yes People’s Party (YPP) United Ghana Movement (UGM) Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) New Vision Party (NVP) Ghana Democratic Republican Party (GDRP) Ghana National Party (GNP) Power Unity Party (PUP) United Progressive Party (UPP) Reform Patriotic Democrats (RPD) People’s Action Party (PAP) United Renaissance Party (URP) National Reform Party (NRP) United Love Party (ULP).
The contest for executive positions in the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Northern Region was characterized by drama as a twice-defeated Regional Chairman Aspirant was captured in a video screaming out of frustration.
Godfred Apasinaba Sulemana Wumbei, who for the second time came close but lost to one Ali Adolf John with less than 20 votes, was heard shouting and asking, “why why why”.
According to him, he had won the polls, but there had been machinations in collusion with officials of the Electoral Commission to deny him victory.
“I have won the elections, but some people want to deny me the victory”, he shouted as he spoke to pressmen.
But the Electoral Commission maintained that he polled 236 votes coming second to Ali Adolf John, who had 347 votes.
Alhaji Umar Farouk Isshaq had nine votes, whereas Alhaji Hassan Rufai Vellim, who was tipped to win the race, garnered only 93 votes.
Meanwhile, police who were deployed to the venue clashed with party hoodlums who tried disrupting the process after it emerged that their candidate had lost the polls.
Videos available to MyNewsGh.com saw armed police slugging it out with the party thugs who tried snatching the ballot papers as they were sorted and put on the table by officials of the Electoral Commission for counting.
Weeks earlier, a former Director General of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Professor Abdulai Baba Salifu, withdrew from contesting as the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Northern Regional Chairman.
It is unclear what triggered his decision to step down on his bid days after the party’s vetting of prospective Regional aspirants for the position that promises to be competitive.
His withdrawal reduced the number of aspirants seeking to succeed the late Alhaji Ibrahim Mobila, who died barely a month ago, to 4.
In a writ filed at the Supreme Court on Monday, November 7, 2022, Brogya Genfi argued that the legislator, who is a member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) is constitutionally unfit to run for and be a lawmaker for any constituency in Ghana because he was allegedly convicted of fraud in Australia before 2020 elections.
According to Mr Genfi, a convict, per Article 94(2)(c)(i) of the 1992 constitution is not permitted to hold state and public offices.
Responding to the suit against him in an exclusive interview on Citi TV’s The Big Issue, Habib Iddrisu denied knowledge of the suit.
According to him, he has heard of rumours concerning the suit but he is yet to be served.
“I have also been hearing it on social media, that is all to it. I have not been served, so whatever I hear, I have to be served to know what it is about,” Iddrisu told host Selorm Adonoo.
The Essikado-Ketan Parliamentary candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the 2020 polls, Dr Grace Ayensu-Danquah, has pulled out of her case against the New Patriotic Party’s Joe Ghartey, MP for the same constituency, who, she insists, was fraudulently declared the winner by the Electoral Commission.
Dr Ayensu-Danquah’s decision, according to her, is because of disappointment and frustration, especially as the case, which has dragged on for close to two years, with no end in sight, continues to drain her time and commitment towards rejuvenating the party at the constituency level.
Dr Ayensu-Danquah, who is an American-trained Burn Reconstructive Surgeon, has also debunked syndicated media reports suggesting she was fined for chickening out of the case.
According to her, Counsel for the plaintiffs demanded GHC500,000 but the Judge, Justice Richmond Osei Hwere, declined the request and instead handed them (the 1st and 2nd respondents, i.e. the Electoral Commission and Joe Ghartey) the initial GHC20,000 deposited to settle administrative fees.
The 2020 Essikado-Ketan NDC candidate in her petition to the Sekondi High Court, cited several infractions during the coalition of votes which changed the figures in favour of the incumbent MP, Joe Ghartey.
She avers that illegality resulted in the EC declaring results based on the second respondent, Joe Ghartey’s own pink sheets, which gave him — 26,701 valid votes compared to the NDC candidate — 24,527, while Ghana Union Movement’s (GUM), Frank Cobbinah Parliamentary candidate polled just 629.
The petitioner however insisted that her “own collated results from the figures declared after counting at polling stations were that the first respondent obtained 26,299 valid votes while the petitioner had 26,336 valid votes, making the petitioner the obvious winner, but the second respondent declared otherwise.”
But Dr Grace Ayensu, in her termination plea before Court raised a number of concerns.
That to date she and her lawyer, Daniel Ametepe, have complied fully with all orders of the High Court and have pursued the matter with the utmost zeal and diligence but the 1st Respondent has not yet complied with pre-trail orders of the Court by the failure to file his witness statement and pre-trial checklist.
That 20 months after she first filed the action, a lot of water has gone under the bridge and upon serious reflection and consultation, “I have decided to let go and rather help my party focus on the future reorganisation as Election 2024 is not too far away,” she explained.
She has since described twists on the development and the Court’s decision to fine her as mischievous and lacks appreciation of how the case travelled and her reason to move on.
“It is left with just about two years to the next elections but because of this case, not much in terms of development is happening in Essikado-Ketan, but just confusion,” her lawyer, Mr Daniel Ametepe, explained to journalists, after the hearing.
“We filed a witness statement for three witnesses to come before the court to narrate what happened on the 7th and 8th of December 2020 because we had a case,” he continued: “Joe Ghartey’s lawyer filed a motion for the case to be dismissed but he lost that case and still went ahead to file an appeal to that ruling.”
“Even the appeal that Joe Ghartey made his lawyer file, he is not pursuing it,” Mr Ametepe noted, indicating: “This is all to create uncertainty in the High Court.”
“So, the processes that we have taken to terminate the case [are] part of the rules of the court. That is why the judge granted our case of discontinuation,” he concluded.
The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin has resurrected the issue about the withdrawal of his military protection as he describes the action as politically motivated.
Mr. Bagbin who questioned the basis for the action says it is puzzling that the state maintained what he calls battalion for the Electoral Commission Boss even after withdrawing the few military personnel attached to his office.
The Ghana Armed Forces in January withdrew the military personnel attached to the security detail of the Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin.
Government has dismissed suggestions that the withdrawal of the military attachment to the Speaker of Parliament by the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) is an attempt to stifle his protection.
But speaking on the issue publicly for the first time during an engagement with the parliamentary press corps, Mr Bagbin listed a number of individuals whose offices are relatively below that of the speaker of Parliament yet enjoying military protection.
“The Chief Justice has a military, as well as Ministers, have their own and each Supreme Court Judge but the EC Chair has a battalion. My brothers at the Ministry of Defense and Interior both have and the Attorney General has his own. The same as the Minister for Finance but the Speaker is not entitled to a military,” he bemoaned.
“When I was second deputy Speaker, the Office of the same President approved his staff sergeant to by military attaché. For four good years, the staff sergeant was with me.
“Now, I’ve been elected as the Speaker, which is a higher position, and the same president says I’m not entitled to military attachment,” Mr. Bagbin lamented.
Nonetheless, Mr. Bagbin assured the public his security is guaranteed regardless of the withdrawal of the military attachment.
According to Dr. Samuel Nkumbaan, this is the best method to ensure that the UGSRC elections are conducted in peace.
On Tuesday, October 25, 2022, Samuel Nkumbaan said during a segment of our morning program Campus Exclusive that candidates and students should respect the Electoral Commission because it is their responsibility to ensure the smooth running of the SRC election.
“The students respect the institution, respect the EC, be confident in the EC and the processes that they themselves have agreed to in the conduct of this very election. So, we are holding them to task to ensure that there is peace during and after the elections.”
“We call on the students to be vicarious in the way they act to what is happening, we expect that nothing at all will happen.
“We encourage the students to behave themselves in a manner that is representative of the institution in which they find themselves and so we’re hoping that this will not be one of those types we’ve seen in the past elections. He stated.
“For me, the expectations generally will be that it will be something peaceful that is for the benefits of the university by way of management of the institution.
“Of course, the student leadership is a critical part of the governance structure of the university and the best is usually that which we are looking for the interest of ensuring that the environment is conducive for teaching and learning.
“So, we are looking forward to a peaceful election, you would agree that over the last couple of years student elections on campus have not been that peaceful some have violent reactions and destruction of property, we do not expect that will happen again and have learnt our lessons from those past occurrences.” He mentioned
Samuel Nkumbaan further added that using the online system to vote is a good process to start with. This he says is something the university should explore in the future to avoid the human contact that sometimes comes with violence.
“Online elections are the best in terms of the fact that you don’t have the human-to-human encounter. However, we also have to be decorum in terms of who is writing the script.
“For me, it is a good process to start with, and then even the UTAG General elections that we held the last time, that was what we used, and everybody was satisfied with the outcome.
“I think that going forward, it may be something to explore. And it may even be possible to get it out of the absolute hands of students and then let some neutral body operate the systems, for example, our UGCS staff can be tasked alongside the SRC Electoral Commission to develop the system that allows for everybody to have confidence in the online system and avoid the one-to-one contact, which usually will bring about disagreements when it was physical voting.” He indicated.
Students of the University of Ghana are set to go to the polls to elect new executive to man the affairs of the Student Representative Council on November 1, 2022.
This was after the University of Ghana SRC EC and the University of Ghana Computing systems annulled the previous elections held on October 25, 2022 where some students were not able to cast their vote because the majority complained of not receiving their codes.
The election was therefore moved to November 1, 2022 to allow UGCS send codes to all students and resolve any complaints that might come thereafter.
The University of Ghana Student Representative Council (UGSRC) is using the online mode of voting in this year’s elections.
Five Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidates are vying for the Presidency. They are Curtis Owusu Akomeh and Linda Ackah Mensah, Martin Boakye and Abraham Lincoln, Samuel Ackom and Ramzy Ahmed, Graham Oduro Dery and Benedict Paakwesi Bortsie and Noah Wumborbi and Kojo Ambrose.
Diana Ohene Bemah, Vida Minta, Ernestina Mahama, and Emmanuella Boakye Yiadom are contesting for the General Secretary portfolio.
The treasurer portfolio is contested by Micheal Kuti and Edward Owusu Boateng.
Mr Haruna Iddrisu, the Minority Leader, said on the floor of Parliament that there was discrepancy in the numbers provided by the EC as registered voters up to 17 million and what the NIA has on its role.
“And we hear that the Commission wants to rely on the National Identification Authority,…the cardinal question is, so, what has happened to the Electoral Commission’s own biometric data that today they are avoiding the use of their own biodata they’ve collected and they want to collect biodata from the National Identification Authority?” Mr Iddrisu quizzed.
“But we need a reconciliation of the numbers, because we are very convinced that Article 42 (of the Constitution) confers the right on Ghanaians to be registered as voters by the Electoral Commission”.
Article 42 says every citizen of Ghana of eighteen years of age or above and of sound mind has the right to vote and is entitled to be registered as a voter for the purposes of public elections and referenda.
The National Identification Authority was unlike the Electoral Commission, who by virtue of Article 46, “…shall not be subject to the direction or control of any person or authority,” Mr Iddrisu said.
He reiterated that the NIA was subject to ministerial control “and, therefore, we want the two bodies to come here – Electoral Commission and National Identification Authority – let’s see the discrepancy and variance in your numbers.”
“Because we will not, Mr Speaker, accept any attempt by the EC to disenfranchise any Ghanaian, because they want to rely on an ID card, which is not available to Ghanaians. We mean serious business on this matter.”
Mr Iddrisu said the Minority Caucus would safeguard the provisions of Article 42 of the Constitution and asked why in 2021 and 2022 Ghanaians who had attained 18 years had not been given the opportunity to be on the voter’s register.
Mr Ahmed Ibrahim, the Deputy Minority Chief Whip, first raised the matter on the floor of the House when commenting on the Business Statement for the week ending Friday, November 4.
He indicated that at the Business Committee meeting to consider the Business Statement it was agreed that the reports of the EC and NIA were supposed to have been scheduled for next week Thursday, November 3, but they were not captured.
The Report of the Committee of the Whole on the NIA was conspicuously missing in the Business Statement.
He said the report of the Special Budget Committee on the activities of the EC and the new constitutional instrument that the Commission intended to bring were also conspicuously missing.
The reports were to be presented to the House, debated, and then officials of the EC and the NIA could be scheduled to appear to answer questions on them.
“Mr Speaker, the whole nation is interested in this, civil society organisations are interested in this; the whole House want to meet the EC,” Mr Ibrahim said.
Mr Frank Annoh-Dompreh, the Majority Chief Whip, who presented the Business Statement to Parliament on the behalf of the Majority Leader, said the Business Committee would do the needful.
The Minority in Parliament is demanding the appearance of the National Identification Authority(NIA) and the Electoral Commission before the House to clarify concerns with the current data of Ghanaians under their control.
The Minority says this is a result of plans by the EC to rely on the Ghana Card from the NIA for the 2024 General Elections.
Speaking on the Floor of Parliament, the Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, says statistics from the NIA must reconcile with that of the EC before any such a move could be undertaken.
“Let us see the discrepancy and variance in your numbers because we will not accept any attempt by the Electoral Commission to disenfranchise any Ghanaian because they want to rely on an ID card which is not available to Ghanaians.”
The Minority Leader also called on the house to constitute an ad hoc committee to oversee the implementation of recommendations of the Public Accounts Committee on the Auditor General’s Report.
“Parliament must help the public purse in getting this committee constituted,” Mr. Iddrisu said.
He added that there had been meetings with the Majority Leader, and they agreed that “probably we should get a retired jurist or a retired member of Parliament with good standing on account.”
In his response, the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, said there is an existing committee to the effect and the Public Accounts Committee must present a report on their work for consideration by the house.
The Speaker further said he has not received any briefing from the EC on its plans to use the data of the NIA for the elections.
He noted until such is done, the EC “should forget about laying any such instrument in the House.”
Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin has threatened to block the laying of a new Constitutional Instrument (C.I) by the Electoral Commission if the House is not briefed accordingly.
The Electoral Commission’s CI, which is undergoing some amendments, is expected to make the Ghana card the only identification document to enroll unto the voters register.
This new proposal has been a thorny issue between the EC and the opposition NDC together with other political parties.
They have argued that this proposal by the EC seeks to disenfranchise Ghanaians in the upcoming elections.
Speaking on the matter on the Floor of the House, on Friday, Alban Bagbin noted that the independence of the EC does not make it immune to oversight by Parliament.
He indicated that he will only allow the EC to lay the C.I before Parliament if members of the House are fully briefed.
“I am yet to receive them to be briefed. Until that is done, they should forget about laying any such instrument in the House. I think there is a misinterpretation and misunderstanding of the concept of independence of various state institutions that are stated by the Constitution to be independent,” he stated.
Mr. Alban Bagbin explained that the EC’s independence relates to the performance of its functions. However, its independence ceases if any issue or matter is brought before Parliament.
“They cannot say they are not subject to the control of anybody, including the institution of Parliament. The EC, the Bank of Ghana and the Judiciary should take note,” he added.
Some aggrieved National Democratic Congress (NDC) executives and aspirants in the Ayawaso West Wuogon constituency have accused the incumbent constituency leadership of the party of conniving with other agencies to rig the just-ended constituency election.
They are pointing accusing fingers at the New Patriotic Party (NPP) constituency chairman, the Electoral Commission, NDC electoral committee and police for bullying their way through the election.
The members claim the elections were conducted in an unfair and unjust manner to enable the current leadership to stay in power.
“Some executives are threatening to withdraw their services, others are threatening to resign from their positions. We will not allow their overwhelming shouts of change to be silenced,” said Joshua Essel, one of the disgruntled aspirants.
Speaking at a press conference, Joshua Essel assured party members in the constituency that steps will be taken to annul the results.
“As leaders who believe in the rule of law, we have taken action and addressed the appropriate quarters. We seek redress and the total annulment of the elections because it was nothing but fraud. The election was fraught with many irregularities, illegalities and thievery”.
The Electoral Commission of Ghana has listed 17 political parties whose registration it intends to revoke for failure to establish national and regional offices in the country.
The EC in a statement said these parties have not met the requirements of the Political Parties Act 2000.
It therefore gave them up to Thursday, October 20, 2022 to show proof why their registrations should not be cancelled.
“The Commission intends to invoke Section 15 (3) (c) of the Political Parties Act of 2000, Act 574, which mandates it to cancel the registration of Political Parties which do not have offices at the National and Regional levels.”
”In this vein, the following Political Parties are by this notice requested to show cause in writing to the Electoral Commission why their registration should not be cancelled,” it added in the notice published on Thursday, October 13, 2022.
The Electoral Commission explained that it undertook a nationwide exercise to inspect the offices of all registered political parties from May 16, 2022 to June 9, 2022.
Following the nationwide inspection, it came to light that the 17 under-listed Political Parties have no offices at the national and regional levels.
The parties include; the United Progressive Party (UPP) led by Akwasi Addae, popularly known as Odike.
Another one on the list is the United Front Party (UFP), which is being led currently by Nana Agyenim Boateng popularly known as ‘Gyataba’ following disagreements with Odike.
The Democratic Freedom Party (DFP), formed by Dr Obed Yao Asamoah, the National Reform Party (NRP) led by Goosie Tanoh, the Reform Patriotic Democrats and a host of others are all on the list.
The rest are; Democratic People’s Party (DPP), United Development System Party (UDSP), Every Ghanaian Living Everywhere (EGLE), Yes People’s Party (YPP), United Ghana Movement (UGM), New Vision Party (NVP), Ghana Democratic Republican Party (GDRP) and the Ghana National Party (GNP).
The others include; the Power Unity Party (PUP), People’s Action Party (PAP), United Renaissance Party (URP) and the United Love Party (ULP).
Former President John Dramani Mahama has said the Electoral Commission(EC) is reluctant in accepting the largest opposition NDC back into the Inter-Party Advisory Committee(IPAC).
The former leader disclosed that several moves undertaken by the Peace Council toward reaching a middle ground with the EC, and the two leading parties on the NDC’s return to IPAC have proved futile.
“The Peace Council has invited them for the last 8 months. The Electoral Commission can’t find time to sit with the Peace Council and after that have a joint meeting between the two biggest parties so that we can go back to IPAC. They’re not interested,” Mr Mahama told the Voice of America in Washington.
However, the Deputy Chairman of the Electoral Commission (EC) in charge of Corporate Services, Dr. Bossman Asare has indicated that the EC is under no compulsion to force all political parties to attend IPAC and other EC-related meetings.
“One thing which must be clear is that parties coming to IPAC, the EC cannot force any political party to come to IPAC,” he told Joy FM after the NDC withdrew from the IPAC last year.
Meanwhile, the NDC has proposed that the IPAC and its advisory role in the electoral process should be given legal backing, without encroaching on the constitutional independence of the Electoral Commission.
Former President John Dramani Mahama has called on the Judiciary to take keen interest in investigating criminal cases and delivering impartial justice.
The former President, in a tweet on Sunday, was not excited about the execution of works by some institutions while asking them to do better.
“A judiciary owes it a duty to deliver impartial justice to the people; an Ombudsman owes a duty of care to the people to investigate all issues of malfeasance; a police force should exist to serve the people and not rein terror on them.”
In the same tweet, he added that the Electoral Commission (EC) must also take responsibility to include citizens in the electoral processes and desist from satisfying the interest of the incumbent government.
“An electoral commission owes a sacred duty of care to the people by ensuring they are included in the electoral process & not excluded in the interest of the incumbent administration; an independent media owes it to the people to not only report facts without bias, but to hold the government of the day accountable.”
In Africa, we need ethical and moral uprightness as guiding principles, and a stoic fidelity to the truth and to do right by our people above all other considerations. pic.twitter.com/SITGKSatSw
— John Dramani Mahama (@JDMahama) October 9, 2022
Absolute accountability, not just by government but by the institutions of state in service to the people and not themselves, will go a long way to remedy many of the systemic problems that affect our African people. pic.twitter.com/AbtNHvO2TH
— John Dramani Mahama (@JDMahama) October 9, 2022
A judiciary owes it a duty to deliver impartial justice to the people; an Ombudsman owes a duty of care to the people to investigate all issues of malfeasance; a police force should exist to serve the people and not rein terror on them; an electoral commission owes …
1/2 pic.twitter.com/PIWJYsZ1tS
— John Dramani Mahama (@JDMahama) October 8, 2022
Absolute accountability, not just by government but by the institutions of state in service to the people and not themselves, will go a long way to remedy many of the systemic problems that affect our African people. pic.twitter.com/AbtNHvO2TH
According to him, CHRAJ, even though has been given the powers by Ghana’s Constitution to hold persons in public office accountable, it has on some occasions failed the country.
Speaking at a Public Forum on the declaration of assets in Accra, Manasseh said that the failure of CHRAJ to declare that Chief Justice Kwasi Anin-Yeboah and the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Jean Mensa, unfit for office after it received complaints about their asset declaration, is the reason the two are in office today.
“When we talk about leadership; we shouldn’t limit it to only political leadership. There are certain individuals in this country who are very powerful and the constitution has made them so. But they have decided to become very powerless. And they have failed the state when it matters most, one of them is CHRAJ.
“CHRAJ has done well in some of the cases that have gone before it. But in others, CHRAJ failed the nation.
“One of them has to do with the complaints against the Chief Justice. CHRAJ ruled that the PPA board chair cannot hold public office for 2 years because he failed to declare his assets. Similar complaints come against the Chief Justice and also the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission but CHRAJ’s rulings were very problematic.
“I don’t think that we will be having some of these names if the Chief Justice of the Republic of Ghana was declared unfit to hold public office by CHRAJ,” he said.
He intimated that should CHRAJ have ruled that the current Chief Justice is unfit for office and President Akufo-Addo chooses to ignore its ruling, the pressure on him will force him not to take the position.
“A similar thing happened with the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission and we didn’t find CHRAG having the balls to make the right pronouncement,” he added.
The forum was organised by the Media Foundation for West Africa on Tuesday, October 2, 2022.
A former Vice Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Hohoe Constituency, Mr Godfried Kofie, says he will contest the Chairmanship race in the Guan enclave.
Following the creation of the Guan District barely a year ago, the two major political parties are preparing for the next general elections by putting in place interim party officers, awaiting the creation of a constituency by the Electoral Commission (EC).
Voters in the district were not allowed to vote for a parliamentary candidate in the 2020 general elections and still does not have a representation in the legislative arm of government.
Mr Kofie, in an interaction with the media, said he had decided to contest the slot in the Guan area for the NDC to win the parliamentary and presidential race.
He said the lack of a parliamentary representation had been a punishment from the government since there were no developments from an MP hence the urgent need for the creation of a constituency.
Mr Kofie said although there was a district, the existence of a constituency would increase the number of development projects.
In a separate development, a former Hohoe MCE, Mr Peter Worlanyo Abomah, called on government and the EC, to as a matter of urgency, begin processes to create a constituency for the people of the area before the next elections.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has demanded an immediate cessation of work on the draft Constitution Instrument (C.I.) which will make the Ghana Card the sole document for voter registration.
The Party said this was to allow for more consultation and engagement with relevant stakeholders to fine-tune the Instrument to address all concerns.
Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, the National Chairman of the NDC, who made the call at a news conference in Accra, said the Party had noticed with concern various discrepancies in the newly proposed C.I. that sought to make the Ghana Card the sole source of identification for the acquisition of a voters’ card.
He noted that the C.I., if passed in its current form, would not only unconstitutional, but radically disenfranchise many prospective voters.
Citing Regulation 1(3) of the newly proposed Instrument that: “A person who applies for registration as a voter shall provide evidence of identification of National Identity Card issued by the National Identification Authority,” Mr Ampofo said the Instrument, if passed with the regulation would radically change the current regime for proving one’s identity.
Under the current regulations (C.I. 126), a person who qualifies to register as a voter may prove his or her identity by either presenting a valid Ghana passport, a national identity card (not national identity card issued by the National Identification Authority as proposed in this C.I.), or a voter registration identification form signed by two registered voters within the community.
“What the EC proposes to do with the new C.I. is to eliminate the two other sources of proof of identity, that is, the Ghana passport and the guarantee system, leaving the Ghana Card as the only means of identity,” he said.
The EC, recently indicated that it would accept only the Ghana Card as the sole source of identification for the continuous voters’ registration exercise, thus, scrapping the age-old guarantor system.
The Commission said using the Ghana Card as the only source of identification would rid the electoral register off minors and foreigners and enhance the integrity of the register.
Since the announcement, there have been concerns about the EC’s decision, with some commentators and political analysts warning that the move could disenfranchise many prospective voters.
Mr Ampofo warned that as a party with legitimate interest in the elections and given the high stakes of the 2024 elections, it would not allow any manipulation before, during or after those elections, adding that it would demand the strictest standards in the processes leading up to the elections.
“Since the C.I. has not been formally laid before Parliament, we take this opportunity to call upon the EC to abandon the idea altogether.
“We wish to serve notice, that we will use every lawful means to resist this latest effort to undermine the right of Ghanaians to vote and in the process skew the electoral system in favour of the NPP,” he said.
Mr Ampofo also explained that it was nearly impossible for all eligible Ghanaians to acquire the Ghana Card which would enable them to register as voters considering the challenges that had characterised the process since its inception.
Statistics from the NIA indicate that more than two million eligible Ghanaians were yet to obtain their Ghana Cards.
Mr Ampofo said: “In the circumstances therefore, making the Ghana Card the sole requirement for voter for registration will serve to deny millions of Ghanaians their right to register and vote.”
The National Chairman added that: “Given the above circumstances, we are of the considered view that C.I. 91 as amended is adequate for voter registration and the subsequent conduct of the 2024 elections as the EC has not provided any justification for the proposed changes.”
The National Chairman also cited Regulations 2 and 33 of the newly proposed C.I as sections that required more engagements for finetuning.
The appeal comes after the Commission decided not to employ the guarantor system for the registration of voters in 2024.
The Ghana Card will be the only form of identity accepted by the EC for voter registration.
This will become effective once a constitutional provision that has not yet been laid matures.
The Deputy Chairman of the Commission in charge of operations, Samuel Tettey, at a media engagement on Thursday, September 8, said it is feasible with the collaboration of all stakeholders.
“Again, we call on the NIA to accelerate the pace of the printing of the Ghana Card to make it easy for anyone who is interested in registering with us to do so,†he said.
Mr. Tettey also called on the political parties and other stakeholders to encourage qualified applicants to register.
“We expect all the players in the electoral process, including political parties, to encourage all those who do not have Ghana Cards to visit the offices of the National Identification Authority and register for the Ghana Card.â€
The Auditor-General has revealed that 21 officials of the Electoral Commission (EC) failed to declare their assets.
According to the Auditor-General, 21 Electoral Commission (EC)officials failed to register their assets.
In its 2020 report, the Auditor-General also found that the officials had neglected to submit reports on their own background checks by the police.
All employees were required to provide the following information, among others, in a standard form: “Date of Birth certified by an original birth certificate or affidavit, hometown, whether convicted of criminal offense and number of children.”
However, none of the 21 officials’ files contained personal information such passport photos, asset and liability declarations, police background check reports, or personal data.
The Auditor-General in its 2020 report also found that the Electoral Commission did not have a register to capture its assets across the country.
The Auditor-General has drawn the attention of the Management of the Commission to the findings.
“In accordance with Article 9 (2) of the Agreement, Non-provision of these personal records on the personal files amounted to concealment of facts and intentionally refusing to provide them and could lead to the risk of termination of employment.â€
The Auditor-General also directed the Commission to get an Asset Register to capture all of its assets dotted across the country.
Fewer than half of Angola‘s registered voters cast ballots in this week’s election that looks set to extend the MPLA’s almost five decades in power, electoral commission data showed on Friday.
Despite the MPLA’s expected success, Wednesday’s vote was Angola’s most closely fought yet with unprecedented gains for the opposition, who have complained about the counting process.
With more than 97% of the vote counted, the election commission said on Thursday the formerly Marxist People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola, or MPLA, was ahead with a 51% majority and its longtime opponent, the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola, or UNITA, had 44.5%.
If that breakdown holds, MPLA President Joao Lourenço will secure a second five-year term, extending his party’s uninterrupted rule since independence from Portugal in 1975.
But UNITA, for the first time, will have deprived the MPLA of the two-thirds majority needed to pass major reforms and the ruling party will instead need the backing of other lawmakers.
Election data released on Friday also showed that turnout was just 45.65% of eligible voters.
UNITA has challenged provisional results, saying its initial count of 40% of polling stations showed it only a whisker behind the MPLA, saying it was a small enough margin for it to overhaul the MPLA once all ballots in the capital Luanda were counted..
UNITA posted an image of its leader, Costa Junior on its official Instagram account with the caption: “The President”.
The ruling party has not yet commented on the results, but it posted a video of Lourenço thanking Angolans on social media.
Analysts fear any dispute could ignite violence among a poor and frustrated youth who voted for Junior. The MPLA and UNITA, formerly both anti-colonial guerrilla groups, were on opposing sides of an on-off civil war that lasted 27 years from 1975.
As she watched the news on her phone, 47-year-old Antonia Neto, who works at a coffee shop at Luanda airport, said she was not happy with the results but said there was a glimpse of hope.
“There is a lot of discontentment,” she said. “Maybe things will be better in the next election.”
The MPLA’s Lourenço, 68, has pledged to extend reforms in his second term, including privatising poorly-run state assets. But many Angolans still live in poverty despite his promises of a fairer distribution of wealth in Africa’s second biggest oil producer.
The Deputy Chairman of the Electoral Commission (EC) in charge of Corporate Services, has warned prospective voters to obtain a Ghana card since that will be a requirement for voting in the 2024 election.
Speaking in an interview on The Pulse on Wednesday, Dr. Bossman Asare said without a Ghana card, one will not be registered to vote.
This, he said is because the Ghana card has made an impact in our society with almost 17 million Ghanaians registered for it.
“Commission in collaboration with our partners took the decision that now let us have the Ghana card as the main requirement.
“So what this means is that as soon as you acquire your Ghana card with a continuous registration, you just go to our district office where you are located then you go and register and your name will be put on the roll of voters,†he said.
For this reason, he used the opportunity to encourage citizens between the ages of 15 to 18 to register for their Ghana card “so that as soon as you turn 18 then you present it to the registration officer then instantly you are going to be registered.â€
Former President, John Dramani Mahama, has charged Members of Parliament in the Minority Group to keep a keen eye on the activities of the Executive arm of government.
Delivering a speech at a closing ceremony of a retreat for Minority Group MPs at the Volta Serene hotel in Ho on Sunday, July 17, 2022, Mahama said the style of this administration has been to subjugate and dominate institutions for parochial and partisan gain, and as such, there is a need for it to be monitored.
“These institutions have thus become pliant tools for the furtherance of the political ends of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and President Akufo-Addo,†he added.
He named the Electoral Commissionas one of such institutions “which instead of making it easy for our citizens to take part in elections, rather takes delight in making it difficult.â€
“They appear determined to ensure the disenfranchisement of sections of our population at all costs through a misguided insistence on the use of the Ghana Card as the only source of identification for a voter card. How do you do this, knowing that the Ghana Card is not available to everyone who should have one?â€
“You [Minority MPs] have become the immediate hope of a people who labour under irresponsible governance and abuse of office. There is the need therefore to meet this expectation by injecting further impetus into your work by keeping an even keener eye on the activities of the Executive.â€
He admitted that the Ghana Card is a relatively new feature of the country and has its merits in the scheme of things.
His contention is that it is being brandished more as a political tool around which all manner of schemes is being fashioned ahead of the elections.
He believes there is the need to allow sufficient time for its full integration “before this kind of unhelpful exclusion of all other legitimately acquired, credible and time-tested forms of identification is implemented.â€
Mr. John Mahama suspects foul play with the “haste on the part of the Electoral Commission to exclude all other means of identification.â€
Even though the Electoral Commission has clarified that it is only demanding the Ghana card for continuous registration and is not in the process of compiling a new one, Mr. Mahama is not convinced.
He is demanding a system that enables all political parties and relevant stakeholders to possess the capacity to monitor same in real-time, to avoid fraud and exploitation to the undue advantage of any party.
Former President, John Dramani Mahama says the Electoral Commission is seeking to use the Ghana Cardas a political tool to frustrate Ghanaians in their quest to secure voters Card for the next elections.
According to him, the Commission is one of many state agencies that have become pliant instruments in the advancement of the parochial interest of the Akufo-Addo administration.
“One such institution is the Electoral Commission, which instead of making it easy for our citizens to take part in elections, rather takes delight in making it difficult. They appear determined to ensure the disenfranchisement of sections of our population at all costs through a misguided insistence on the use of the Ghana Card as the only source of identification for a voter card.
“How do you do this, knowing that the Ghana Card is not available to everyone who should have one? The Ghana Card is a relatively new feature of our national life and has its merits in the scheme of things. At the moment, it is being brandished more as a political tool around which all manner of schemes is being fashioned towards elections. There is the need to allow sufficient time for its full integration into our way of life before this kind of unhelpful exclusion of all other legitimately acquired, credible and time-tested forms of identification are implemented,†Mr Mahama said during a speech at the closing ceremony of a Minority caucus workshop.
He stressed: “The National Identification Authority cannot claim to have covered every Ghanaian who should be registered or distributed all the cards printed to those who have been captured in their system. They have failed to distribute hundreds of thousands of cards to people who have registered. Until full and total coverage is achieved in the roll out of the Ghana Card, room must be made for those who are yet to be served, to exercise their democratic rights of voting. They cannot be excluded from the voter register due to no fault of theirsâ€.
The Member of Parliament for South Dayi Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor says the Electoral Commission Chairperson and her deputies are in the wrong court with their suit over the alleged leak of contents in the petition to remove them.
According to the lawmaker, who is a lawyer, matters that bother on reputational damage as being claimed by the EC Chair and her deputies are addressed at the High Court and not the Supreme Court.
“The jurisdiction they have chosen is an abuse of the judicial process. It’s a matter of their reputation, so the place to go is the High Court, not the Supreme Court. In this case, it is their reputation they say has been damaged, so they must go to High court. It is not an interpretation issue; it is an alleged attack on their reputation, so the forum is wrong per our legal procedure,” the MP told Francis Abban on Thursday’s Morning Starr.
The chairperson and her deputies have claimed in their suit that the petition’s content has been leaked, causing them public ridicule.
In a writ filed at the Supreme Court to invoke the original jurisdiction of the Apex Court on Wednesday, January 26, 2022, the EC Chair and her deputies are asking for five reliefs, including “A declaration that the airing of the contents of the Petition by 1st Defendant to the media (Traditional and social) has subjected 1st, 2nd and 3rd Plaintiffs to public ridicule, hatred, opium, and opprobrium and equally exposed them to unfair prejudice.”
They are also seeking “An order of perpetual injunction directed against 2nd Defendant (Chief Justice) from determining, dealing or having anything to do in any manner whatsoever and/or howsoever, with any issues arising out of the contents of Petitioners Petition or at all.”
They also seek “orders and/or directions as this honorable court may deem fit to give effect or enable effect to be given to the orders of this court.”
Public advocacy group, FixTheCountry Movement say their petition for the removal of the Electoral Commissioner and her two deputies, have been acknowledged by the President and the Chief Justice accordingly.
In a statement circulated on Tuesday, the group disclosed that since their petition has been welcomed by the appropriate quarters, they are waiting for the next line of action, in accordance with law.
“Earlier today, 18 January 2022, we the 46 Ghanaians who petitioned the Chief Justice, through the President, initiating processes for the impeachment of the Chair and Deputies of the Electoral Commission in the connection of the disenfranchisement of the people of Santrokofi, Lolobi, Akpafu and Likpe, received responding letters from the Offices of the President and of the Chief Justice.
Through his letter, the President has acknowledged receipt of the petition and confirmed that it has forwarded the petition to the Chief Justice to commence the process for impeaching the impugned officers of the Electoral Commission.
For his part, the Chief Justice in his letter, informed the petitioners that he has initiated the impeachment process and has accordingly informed the impugned officers of the Electoral Commission of this stepâ€, the statement said.
It will be recalled that on January 10, the FixTheCountry Movement, announced that they had filed a petition for the removal of the EC Chairperson, Jean Mensa and her two deputies; Dr Bossman Eric Asare and Samuel Tettey.
In a statement signed by the lead petitioner, Oliver Barker-Vormawor, the group said their petition is due to the disenfranchisement of residents of Santrokofi, Akpafu, Lolobi and Likpe (SALL) in the 2020 Parliamentary elections.
To this effect, the group presented a 24-paged petition with 19 appendixes to the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. The petition was undersigned by a total of 46 individuals comprising lawyers, academics, students, public and private sector employees, unemployed and homeless Ghanaians, cutting across all political persuasions and ethnicity.
The petitioners also explained that their petition was in connection with the intentional denial of the right to vote of the people of Santrokofi, Akpafu, Lolobi and Likpe in the 2020 general parliamentary elections. Adding that, “the actions of the impugned officials, if considered in context and in light of their preceding and subsequent conduct, meets the threshold of stated misbehavior and, or incompetence as required under Article 146 of the 1992 Constitution for the removal of these officialsâ€.
A week after submitting their petition, the group has disclosed that their petition has been noted pending further processes. Regarding the next line of action, the group said they are looking forward to “the full impeachment phase of the process before the 5-member Committee that will soon and subsequently be established by the Chief Justiceâ€.
Meanwhile, the petitioners have indicated that they cannot disclose the full contents of their petition due to previous rulings by the Supreme Court, which bars them from revealing same. According to them, even though they are compelled to comply with the directive of the apex court, they find it “bizarreâ€.
“The Supreme Court has in a string of decisions held that the contents of a petition brought under Article 146 of the Constitution cannot be made public in order to protect the privacy interests of the Article 146 office holders. While the Petitioners find it bizarre that the Supreme Court will aid public office holders to assert non-existent personal privacy interests in grave matters of public interest and in connection with the performance of their official duties, they have reticently agreed to embargo the release of the full content of the petition, and the correspondences received for the meantimeâ€, the statement concluded.
The Electoral Commission addressed a press conference on Monday, October 25, 2021, primarily to respond to recent allegations leveled against it by former President John Dramani Mahama.
The former President on his recent ‘Thank You’ tours has slammed the EC and its chairperson, Jean Mensah, over the conduct of the 2020 General Elections which he has classed as the worst under the fourth Republic.
The presser addressed by deputy EC Chairperson Bossman Asare refuted all allegations leveled by Mahama with evidence in their possession but also demanded that the former President avails whatever evidence he has to back his allegations.
Overall, the EC asked for evidence on four major allegations. On the issue of a million thumb-printed ballot papers in favour of the incumbent, ballot stuffing, role of the military in results declaration and why EC should be blamed for electoral violence.
GhanaWeb gleans the exact words of Bossman Asare on each demand for evidence:
Where is your evidence on 1 million ballots?
The Former President has said the EC thumb printed 1 million ballots in favor of the president. This is untrue. This is a grave matter that undermines the credibility of our electoral process and should not be ignored.
We call on him to provide evidence to support his claim. This is not a matter to be ignored and we call on the Ghana Police Service to investigate this.
Provide evidence on ballot stuffing
The transparency of our processes from the beginning to the end makes this impossible. Ballot Stuffing cannot be done-it is impossible. We call on the Former President in the interest of our democracy to provide evidence of the stuffing of the ballot boxes by the EC.
The Police should investigate this as a matter of urgency due to its potential to derail and undermine our democracy, and lead to a lack of confidence in our systems and processes.
Substantiate allegations on military role in results declaration
We call on the good people of Ghana to disregard this allegation of the military influencing the declaration and announcement of results as it is false and untrue.
In the interest of our democracy we call on the Former President to provide evidence of where the influence by the Military occurred.
We have also noted that the Former President has called the 2020 elections the worst elections. We refute his scoring. The good people of Ghana who experienced our processes are the best judges.
Provide evidence as to why security issues are the EC’s fault
To lay the security lapses at the doorstep of the EC is unfortunate. While we sympathize with the family members of the deceased, we reject any attempt to associate the violence with us.
Again, we call on the former president in the interest of our democracy to provide evidence that the EC orchestrated the violence.
