EC Sets May 23 For Kumawu By-Elections
The Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana has finally set a date to hold a by-election to replace Hon Philip Basoah, the late Member of Parliament for the Kumawu constituency.
The election will be held on May 23 in accordance with Article 112(5) of the Constitution.
The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Bagbin, formally wrote to the Chairperson of the EC to inform her about the vacancy of the Kumawu seat on March 31.
Nomination
Interested candidates have been directed to download nomination forms from the Commission’s website from April 14 to May 5 and submit them from May 2 to May 5 at the Sekyere Kumawu District Office of the EC.
As part of the conditions, prospective candidates must have their nomination forms witnessed by the signature or mark of two registered voters as proposer and seconder.
The forms must also be assented to by eighteen other registered voters in the constituency.
The EC added, “A candidate shall at the time of submitting his/her completed nomination forms, provide the returning officer with two copies of a recent postcard (burst-sized) photograph against a red background, showing his/her full face and ears”
Also, the filing fee for each candidate is GHC10,000.
NPP Plans
The governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) has already made plans for Parliamentary Primary for the constituency.
As of April 13, Graphic reported that eight persons had shown interest in representing the NPP by picking nomination forms.
They include former Member of Parliament (MP) for Kumawu, Opanyin Yaw Baah; the current Director of Health Promotion at the Ghana Health Services (GHS), Dr Aboagye Dacosta; Obaapa Ama Serwaa, Ernest Anim, Dr Philip Yaw Barnor, Edward Kofi Osei, Kwame Appiah Kubi and Owusu Bempah, Graphic reports.
The party will hold a parliamentary primary for the constituency on April 23.
Meanwhile, the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) is yet to make public its plans towards the NPP stronghold.
Kumawu constituency has always voted for NPP parliamentary candidates except in 1992, however, it is not known if the trend will continue this time around.
