Residents of Santrofi, Akpafu, Likpe and Lolobi (SALL) traditional areas have petitioned Speaker, Prof. Mike Ocquaye over what they described as an attempt to deny their constituents of a representation in the next parliament.

According to them, the decision to prevent them from taking part in the just-ended parliamentary polls makes them suspect the EC is being compromised by a deliberate agenda to “disenfranchise us and breach our constitutional right” to have their leader in the House.

The Supreme Court in November ruled that the said traditional areas following the creation of new regions ended up falling within the Oti Region.

Hohoe Constituency on the other hand falls within the current Volta Region amidst the constitutional requirement that a constituency shall not fall within more than one region.

The Court also ordered the EC to amend CI 95 to ensure that the said traditional areas do not fall within two regions.

The EC on December 6 subsequently announced that indigenes of SALL who were initially within the Hohoe Constituency could only votes in the Presidential elections.

As it stands, the District is without a Member of Parliament with a few weeks to the inauguration of tye President and MPs-elect on January 7.

On the back of this, a press release from the Office of the Joint Steering Committee in the Akpafu and Lolobi Traditional Areas stated that; "We wish by this petition to signal that we shall not yield for our rights to be trampled upon by the EC."

"It is in this regard that we appeal to your high office to help do justice now and not later," he said.

The December 22 petition further called on "stakeholders and true believers in democracy" to "commit to this cause."

On their part, "if a precedent is set with the arbitrary denial of our rights, no one is safe and therein lies the enduring danger of democracy."