NDC Kumawu By-election Candidate Wasn’t Registered Voter There; EC Puts NDC Claims To Rest
The Electoral Commission (EC) appears to have put to rest, its argument with the National Democratic Congress (NDC) over the eligibility of an aspiring unregistered voter in a constituency with a disclosure.
According to the EC, the opposition party’s candidate in the Kumawu By-election, Kwasi Amankwaa, wasn’t a registered voter in the constituency, however, he was able to contest.
The revelation follows the NDC’s insistence that an aspirant must be registered in the constituency he runs.
The party had earlier alleged the governing party was trying to illegally insert an unqualified aspirant into the Assin North voter’s register with the help of some officials of the EC- an action it said was intended to enable the candidate to aspire in the upcoming by-election.
This was denied by the EC and New Patriotic Party (NPP).
The EC in a statement on Monday said it had not received any request from the NPP to transfer any name, plus, it said there was no need to do that since the constitution makes provisions for such candidates.
The EC said simply hailing from a constituency entitles a person to contest an election in that constituency so long as the person is a Ghanaian; Twenty-one years; above Of sound mind; and a registered voter in the country.
It said, “A person who hails from a constituency per the Constitution need not be a registered voter in the constituency he /she wishes to contest in. Simply hailing from there is enough.”
Additionally, it said, “In the event that a person who wishes to contest in a particular constituency does not hail from that constituency, that person will be eligible to contest if he/she is ordinarily resident in that constituency or has been a resident there for a total period of not less than five years out of the ten years immediately preceding the election for which he/she stands.”
The response of the EC triggered another statement from the NDC which referenced Regulation 6(3) of the Public Election Regulations, 2020 CI 127, to maintain its argument.
“It should be obvious to any educated mind, that the phrase “of the same Constituency” contained at Part 1 of the EC’s own nomination form for the Assin North by-election, refers to the Candidate who is being nominated (proposed, seconded and endorsed) and not the nominees.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the said provision reads; ‘We the undersigned registered voters in…………………Constituency do hereby nominate……………… “of the same constituency” to stand for election as a Member of Parliament, and we hereby certify that to the best of our knowledge, he/she is qualified to be elected as such.’, ” a statement released by the National Communications Officer of the NDC, Sammy Gyamfi, on June 6 said.
In its explanation of the provision, EC said, “Clearly as stated above, the nomination form only requires those nominating a candidate for a Parliamentary election in a constituency to be registered voters in the same constitution and not the candidate who is being nominated to contest.”
It further questioned the NDC’s intention in raising this concern at this time noting that the party’s candidate in the Kumawu By-election is not a registered voter in the Kumawu Constituency.
“Was Sammy Gyamfi not aware of the phrase “of the same Constituency” on the Nomination form before allowing their candidate for the Kumawu By-election who is not a registered voter in Kumawu to contest for the recent By-election?”
According to the EC, Kwasi Amankwaa is rather a registered voter in the Ayawaso West Wuogon Constituency.
The EC said he qualified to contest because he hails from there and noted that Sammy Gyamfi’s allegations are baseless, unfounded and a figment of his imagination and thereby called on the public to ignore it.
