Constitutional Instrument on Guan Constituency Creation is withdrawn by the EC

The Electoral Commission (EC) has requested that the Constitutional Instrument (CI) pertaining to the creation of the Guan Constituency be withdrawn, according to Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, the majority leader in parliament.

According to him, the commission mentioned that there wasn’t enough time to convene within the legally required 21-day period prior to Parliament’s recess.
On Friday, December 22, 2023, parliament is anticipated to convene.

Causes

At a Leaders’ Media Briefing in Parliament last Wednesday, Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, who is also the Leader of Government Business, explained that the EC’s request to withdraw was motivated by the upcoming district-level election and the requirement to synchronize the creation of constituencies with the election procedure. Guan

“They submitted a request to withdraw it and the very day of reconvening, they had submitted it for presentation and concurrently, they had submitted another one for its withdrawal,” he explained.

“The withdrawal had a straightforward explanation.

In order to follow the procedure for creating a constituency, district-level elections (DLE) had to be held.

But at that point, there would be no constituency, the Majority Leader informed the Parliamentary Press Corps.

It was intended for the people living in the Santrokofi, Akpafu, Likpe, and Lolobi (SALL) traditional regions to be able to vote in the 2024 parliamentary elections.

However the EC had stipulated that the needed steps could not be finished in the allotted time.

Opposition

The Minority Leader, Dr. Cassiel Ato Baah Forson, on the other hand, disagreed with the EC’s ruling, claiming that the Guan Constituency district poll may take place following the election of assembly members for other constituencies.

He said that as a result, the EC lacked proper justification for withdrawing the C.I.

Every meeting starts with the Leaders’ Engagement, which is organized by the Parliamentary Media Relations Department.

This is to guarantee that the leaders and the parliamentary press corps engage in open communication, mainly over the meeting’s work program.

EC

In the meantime, the Election Commission (EC) has declared that nominations for the District Level Elections (DLEs) will be accepted starting on November 16, 2023, and running from 9 a.m. to noon and 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. each day.

The EC offers nomination forms at no cost in its district offices around the nation and on its website, www.ec.gov.gh.”

This procedure is a component of the planning for the December 19 DLEs, which will elect members of the Assembly and Unit Committees.

But unlike the other districts in the nation where the Assembly and Unit Committee Members’ terms end on December 17, 2023, the EC would not accept nominations in the Jasikan and Guan Districts on November 16 and 17, as was previously indicated.

This is due to the fact that the C.I. 119 (to be changed) that has been brought before Parliament will not mature before the deadline for nominations is set. – GNA

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