The Majority Leader in Parliament, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, has disclosed that the Electoral Commission (EC) has requested the withdrawal of the Constitutional Instrument (CI) regarding the creation of the Guan Constituency.
The EC cited a lack of adequate time to meet the constitutionally mandated 21-day period before parliament goes into recess on Friday, December 22, 2023.
During a Leaders' Media Briefing in Parliament last Wednesday, Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, who is also the Leader of Government Business in Parliament, explained that the EC's withdrawal request was prompted by the impending district-level election and the need to align the constituency creation with the election process.
"The reason for the withdrawal was simple. If you created a constituency, you then need to hold the District Level Elections (DLE) to conform to the creation of the constituency. However, there was not going to be any constituency at that time,” he said.
The Guan Constituency, comprising the Santrokofi, Akpafu, Likpe, and Lolobi (SALL) traditional areas, was intended to enable residents to participate in the 2024 parliamentary elections.
However, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, the Minority Leader, opposed the EC's decision, arguing that the district-level election for the Guan Constituency could be held after the election of assembly members for other constituencies, making the EC's grounds for withdrawal questionable.
The engagement between leaders and the parliamentary press corps is a routine practice at the beginning of every meeting, under the auspices of the Media Relations Department of Parliament, to facilitate open interaction within the scope of the work agenda.
In related news, the EC has announced the opening of nominations for the District Level Elections (DLEs) on November 16 and 17, 2023, between 9 a.m. to 12 noon and 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. on each day.
Nomination forms can be obtained free of charge at the EC's district offices nationwide or from its website: https://www.ec.gov.gh.
Notably, nominations will not be accepted in the Jasikan and Guan Districts on November 16 and 17, as the C.I. 119 (to be amended) laid in Parliament will not mature before the specified date for the receipt of nominations.
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