Source: newsthemegh.com
The Electoral Commission (EC) has been warned not to assist any candidate who is not eligible to run in the next Assin North by-election by the civil society organization (CSO), Global Security for Africa Research and Good Governance (GLOSARGG).
The GLOSARGG predicts that anything in opposition to that, “which is an epitome of imposing candidates on the electorates, has the tendency to jeopardize the peace and the democracy that,” has been firmly created by the nation’s patriotic founders.
“If the basis for this By-Election is founded on dual citizenship, it would be unprofessional, hypocritical, and an affront to the tenants of Contemporary Democracy and Good Governance to import candidates from different constituencies other than Assin North,” the organization stated in a statement on Monday, June 5, 2023.
This comes in response to allegations made by the primary opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) that the EC conspired with the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) to add the name of an ineligible parliamentary candidate to the voter list in Assin North.
Along with that, it urged the EC and the security apparatus to act with “impartiality and professionalism to improve peace before, during, and after the Assin North by-election, including the future ones.”
The Assin North by-election will take place on Tuesday, June 27, 2023, according to the EC’s schedule.
This was required as a result of the Supreme Court ruling that James Gyakye Quayson’s election as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin North was invalid.
However, Mr. Gyakye Quayson has stated that he will run for the position in the upcoming by-election.
In the meantime, the EC has refuted charges made by the NDC that the NPP and the election administration organization colluded to add the name of an ineligible NPP parliamentary candidate to the voters’ list in Assin North.
“The National Democratic Congress has become aware of a plot by the ruling New Patriotic Party, acting in cahoots with their collaborators in the Electoral Commission to transfer and insert the name of one Charles Opoku into the Voters Register of the Assin North constituency,” said Sammy Gyamfi, the NDC’s communications officer, in a statement on Sunday.
To help the aforementioned Charles Opoku compete in the NPP Parliamentary primaries to choose a candidate for the upcoming Assin North by-election, this illegal action has been taken.
“Our unimpeachable sources have revealed that contrary to the clear requirement on the nomination form for the Assin North by-election, which demands that a candidate in the election must be a registered voter in Assin North, the said Charles Opoku is not a registered voter in the Assin North Constituency,” Mr. Gyamfi said.
In response, the EC stated: “This is not true.”
For the record, the EC has not received a request of this nature from the NPP to transfer any individual’s votes. This claim is untrue and the product of the author’s fantasy. It is intended to defame the Electoral Commission’s integrity, as usual, the election administration organization said in a statement.