Godfred Dame believes it is the best way to get an MP for SALL
Buem MP describes proposal as 'a joke'
Dr. Obed Yao Asamoah, a former Attorney General and Minister for Justice has proposed that the Guan constituency be created to cater for Parliamentary representation of the people of Santrokofi, Akpafu, Lolobi and Likpe (SALL) and other adjoining areas.
His position is in reaction to a recent proposal by Attorney General, Godfred Yeboah Dame, who told Parliament that new polls be conducted in the Buem Constituency to cover SALL residents who have been without a Member of Parliament since 2021.
“I don’t think I appreciate what he is proposing. If there is a re-run for the parliamentary elections in Buem, and SALL is not part Of Buem, how is that going to take place? Unless they are proposing that they are going to make SALL part of Buem which I don’t think is justified,” he told Accra-based Citi FM.
“I don’t understand what they are trying to propose. The people of SALL are in Guan right now, and the Guan District that was created is for the people of SALL so what is needed now is for a constituency so that by the next election they can have a Parliamentary candidate; that’s for me is more feasible”, Dr. Obed Asamoah stressed.
MP for Buem, Kofi Adams has stated his readiness to contest the said election if one becomes necessary. He, however, described the proposal of the Attorney General as a 'joke.'
Already, residents, chiefs and other local government authorities have kicked against the proposals, a Citi News report has stated.
What Dame told Parliament
“The way to go if we want to achieve representation of the SALL areas in the lifetime of this Parliament, is to ensure that proper areas that have been allocated within proper constituencies duly created by law are given their right to vote in proper elections properly conducted to duly elect Members of Parliament.
"Thus, a proper election ought to be conducted to elect a Member of Parliament to represent all of the people in the Buem constituency, as mandated by C. I. 128,” he said.
“As far as I am concerned, there is no law that places SALL under the Buem Constituency. It is only C.I 128 that places SALL under the Buem Constituency.”
Background
The Guan District made up of Santrofi, Akpafu, Likpe and Lolobi (SALL) in the Oti Region was created following a Legislative Instrument laid in Parliament by the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development in 2019.
The district was previously part of Hohoe Municipal (District Electoral Areas and Designation of Units) Instrument, 2014. C. I. 85. However, the area was placed in the Oti Region in the Referendum (Creation of New Regions) Regulations, 2018 C. I. 109 of 30th November 2018, as recommended by the Commission of Inquiry into the creation of the six new regions.
Consequently, Guan was made part of the Oti Region in Oti Region Instrument, 2019 C. I. 112 on 8th February 2019. It was also included in the Jasikan District in the Oti Region as provided in the District Electoral Areas and Designation of Unit Assemblies.
However, the people of SALL did not partake in the December 7, 2020, parliamentary election but only voted in the Presidential election. This followed an announcement by the EC on December 6, 2020. The disenfranchisement has so far triggered many reactions with many concerned Ghanaians calling for the issue to be addressed ahead of the 2024 general election.
Dr. Obed Yao Asamoah, former Attorney General