A Governance Expert, Prof. Emmanuel Osei Asiamah, has urged assembly members who were allegedly disenfranchised during the confirmation of the MMDCEs to go to court.
According to him, they have the legitimate right to vote and so if their claims are true, then they have a clear case to pursue in court.
The Ranking Member on the Local Government Committee of Parliament, Nii Lante Vanderpuye stated that the use of force on Assembly Members, prevention of qualified members from entering voting centres plus the forceful eviction of some members from voting centres makes the confirmation of some of the nominees invalid.
“We are therefore calling on the President and Local Government Minister, to immediately, order a re-run of the confirmation exercise in all the assemblies that recorded any such disgraceful process; Bibiani Anhwiaso Bekwai, Assin South, Sekyere Kumawu, Cape Coast, and others where the processes were manipulated, to prevent known Assembly Members from exercising their constitutional mandate,” he said.
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Speaking on Atinka TV’s morning show, Ghana Nie, Prof. Emmanuel Osei Asiamah said, “I have not seen the exact reason they are asking for a re-election. They might be looking at places where there were misunderstandings. I watched one at the Central Region where some people claimed they were not allowed to vote and some said the voting centers had been changed.”
He continued that, “If it is true, then they have a legitimate case and they can challenge it in court because we have to see that the true members of the assembly voted and that is what the law says.”
He specified that those legitimate assembly members who were present and were ready to cast their votes but were prevented are the ones who can pursue the case.
Prof. Emmanuel Osei Asiamah said even if there were five persons present and they voted, the 2/3 of the five would be used to score the winner.
He said “If the members who wrote their names with the Electoral Commission, were the same members who voted, and the procedures were followed then I think they followed the right process,” he said.
However, he said, “If you go to court and you call for the cancellation of the entire election, then you have to prove that those who voted were not legitimate assembly members and that when their votes are exempted, the 2/3 cannot be gotten.”
Ghana| Atinkaonline.com| Porcia Oforiwaa Ofori
Writer’s email: [email protected]
