The Electoral Commission has set the record straight on SALL (Guan Constituency)’s exclusion from the 2020 Parliamentary Election, refuting false claims by IMANI President Franklin Cudjoe and urging Ghanaians to rely on credible sources for accurate information.
The Electoral Commission noted that it has taken note of circulating audio on social media, in which the President of IMANI makes accusations that the Commission disenfranchised the people of Santrokofi, Apkafu, Lolobi, and Lipke (SALL).
“We wish to state categorically that his accusations are false and without basis. The Commission never disenfranchised the good people of the newly created Guan Constituency. It is not in our interest to do so”.
Electoral Commission
The Electoral Commission (EC) explained that the residents of SALL, now known as the Guan Constituency, were unable to vote in the 2020 Parliamentary Election due to circumstances beyond its control.
The Commission further pointed out that the Legislative Instrument (L.I. 2416), which established the Guan District (SALL), was presented to Parliament on October 6, 2020, by the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD). This instrument came into effect on November 9, 2020, just a month before the 2020 General Elections.
Moreover, the EC indicated that Parliament adjourned on November 9, 2020, coinciding with the coming into force of the L.I. establishing the Guan District, and resumed on December 14, 2020, a week after the 2020 General Elections had taken place.
The EC stated that on November 10, 2020, the Commission received a letter from the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, notifying it of the establishment of the Guan District (SALL) and requesting the creation of a new constituency.
As such, the Commission drafted a new Constitutional Instrument (C.I.) to bring into force the Guan Constituency and forwarded the draft C.I. to the Attorney General’s Department for its review on the 13th of November, 2020 as required by law.
“It is important to state that for a C.I. to mature and come into force, the law requires the Electoral Commission to lay the C.I. in Parliament for twenty-one (21) sitting days. This means that Parliament should be in session during the twenty-one (21) day period when the C.I. is laid”.
Electoral Commission
Parliament’s Recess Hinders Guan Constituency Establishment
Furthermore, the Electoral Commission indicated that with Parliament in recess, the Commission was unable to lay the Constitutional Instrument (C.I.) necessary to legally establish the Guan Constituency, as mandated by law.
“The question is, how could the Commission proceed to create a new Constituency when Parliament was on recess and when the law required the Commission to lay the C.I. before Parliament for twenty-one (21) sitting days? How can any well-meaning person accuse the Commission of disenfranchising the good people of SALL when the facts are so clear?”
Electoral Commission
As such, the Commission expressed regret that IMANI persists in spreading misinformation and falsehoods about the Commission at every opportunity, despite the facts being clarified
Moreover, the EC categorically stated that Franklin Cudjoe’s claim that the Commission disenfranchised the people of SALL, now the Guan Constituency, is entirely false and without basis
As such, the EC advised the public to fact-check information disseminated by IMANI and verify it with the Commission for accurate and reliable information.
To enable the public to ascertain the truth, made available, on its platforms, the letter from the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development to the Commission requesting it to create the new Constituency and the Commission’s letter to the Attorney General seeking to create the new Constituency.
Meanwhile, Franklin Cudjoe, IMANI President, maintained the EC disenfranchised SALL Constituency, citing the Attorney General’s rejected request to allow voting in Hohoe District as evidence, despite the Commission’s clarification.
READ ALSO: War Casts Shadow Over Ukrainian Economy
