Transition Bill: Defeated gov’t officials to leave bungalows in a month

President John Dramani Mahama and all his appointees will have to vacate their official residences within a month and not later than three months if the National Democratic Congress (NDC) loses the December 7 presidential and parliamentary elections.

Failure to do so within the stipulated period will mean the state will be compelled to evict them as required by law.

This is contained in the Presidential Transition Bill which was passed by Ghana’s Parliament on Wednesday October 26.

Section 6 (a), Sub-section 2 of the Transition Bill as approved by Parliament says: “Any other person who ceases to hold office on the assumption of office of the person elected as president and is in occupation of an official residence shall vacate the residence within one month and not later than three month after that assumption of office.”

Sub-section (3) said: “Where a person fails to comply with sub-section (2), the Administrator General shall evict that person in occupation of the premises.”

The bill is a legislation that will make the transfer of political power from one party to the other seamless after a major election in Ghana.

Class 91.3FM’s parliamentary correspondent Ekow Annan said no opposition was raised to the bill during deliberations.

Among other remedies, it will help cure critical challenges in past transition processes and administration problems in the transition process.

In the past years, there have been acrimony and bad faith that have characterised that period, especially between the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) after the 2001 and 2009 elections.

The acrimony associated with the past transition process prompted the former Chair of the Electoral Commission of Ghana, Dr Kwadjo Afari Gyan, to underscore the need for a Presidential Transition Bill to ensure a smooth transition. He wrote an article to that effect which was published in the Daily Graphic on January 23, 2009.