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Lower Manya Krobo Assemblymen Petition Minister Over Electoral Commission

The Lower Manya Krobo Municipal Assembly in the Eastern Region has petitioned the minister for Local Government and Rural Development over the Electoral Commission’s planned Assembly Elections in the municipality.

The reign of the current assembly officially came to an end on 13th Mach, 2017, automatically paving way for the Commission to conduct fresh Elections, but the assembly members think otherwise.

It would be recalled that during the 2011 local government elections, the EC was unable to hold elections in Lower Manya Krobo because of a boundary dispute between the Eastern and Greater Accra Regions, following the refusal of some assembly members in Akuse to recognise their electoral areas as being part of the Eastern Region.

However, the Supreme Court later passed a 9-0 verdict to maintain Akuse as part of the Eastern Region, finally laying the matter to rest. Unfortunately, the litigation changed the electoral calendar of the assembly as elections were held there on 13th March, 2014.

After serving their constitutionally mandated 4-year term, which ended on 13th March, 2017, the commission wrote to the Assembly, announcing its intention to organize fresh local government elections to elect new Assembly members. But the Assembly members, lead by their Presiding Member, Hon. Awuley Mensah, has kicked against the planned Assembly Elections, scheduled for this year.

In a petition to the Minister, they claim that organising elections this year cannot reconcile the National Assembly’s Elections timetable. Another concern raised was that organising elections this year, before another one in 2019, would be a waste of state resources.

They further alleged that the Municipal electoral commission recently created new electoral areas without their consent and called for consensus over the matter.

By: Daniel Akpaloo Nyorngmor

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