Fellow in Public Law and Justice with the Ghana Centre For Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), Prof Stephen Kweku Asare has called on the Electoral Commission (EC) to organise a parliamentary election for the people in the Guan District.
"You’ve created a problem so organize an election in Guan constituency immediately, take an extraordinary step to lay the CI and organize the election for them because that’s what you promised them," he said.
His comment, comes after the Supreme Court dismissed a case against the gazetting of John Peter Amewu as Hohoe MP-elect as the Guan district remains without a representative in Parliament after being excluded from the 2020 parliamentary elections.
This, according to the EC, was because the district has no constituency, therefore, could only participate in the presidential elections.
But speaking on PM Express Monday, Stephen Kweku Asare said it is not too late for the EC to correct the error it made.
“Ordinarily, it will be late because everybody belongs to a constituency but where you have created the problem, and you have disenfranchised some people in the country, you cannot say well, it’s too late now so you guys should give it to God, No,” he insisted.
The legal practitioner said the EC’s decision not to allow the people to partake in the exercise was a violation of Ghana’s constitution therefore the Commission must seek a court declaration on the act.
According to him, although the constitution stipulates that once a new parliament has been inaugurated, a new constituency cannot be created, the case of SALL is exceptional and needs to be attended to.
“So the court can issue that order which says notwithstanding Article 47 6 which provides that a new constituency cannot be created when a new parliament has been inaugurated,” Prof Asare indicated.
He further opined that people who flout the law must be held accountable, adding that one cannot simply undo a law by a fiat.
“There are no consequences for violating the law, people are harmed and they are not compensated, a person who violates the constitution is not held accountable [and so] life goes on. We need to change that culture,” he told Evans Mensah.
The CDD-Ghana Fellow noted that "we are now in an extraordinary environment and that extraordinary environment calls for extraordinary solution."
“And in my mind that extraordinary solution is the one that I have been recommending since December 6. This was the path as far back as December 7th and remains the only viable path."
Latest Stories
-
UK gov’t turns to TikTokers to advise on cosmetic surgery abroad
38 minutes -
Bolsonaro’s son praises Trump’s tariff hike on Brazil
49 minutes -
Sex shouldn’t be painful. Here’s what to do if it is
60 minutes -
What you’re not hearing in sex ed about college hookups
1 hour -
African Union urges adoption of world map showing continent’s true size
1 hour -
New blood pressure guidelines recommend an earlier start to treatment and skipping alcohol
2 hours -
Fast walking is a key to longevity, research shows
2 hours -
US senators call for Meta probe after Reuters report on its AI policies
2 hours -
US charges two in $275m water vending machine Ponzi case
2 hours -
US judge blocks Trump religious exemption to birth control coverage
2 hours -
US appeals court lets Trump cut billions in foreign aid
3 hours -
US court reinstates $81m award against Boeing in trade secrets case
3 hours -
Final salute as Ghana bids farewell to 8 fallen patriots in solemn state funeral
3 hours -
From ‘inactive’ to the US Open – Williams not ready to retire yet
4 hours -
Roma make £20m bid to sign Man Utd outcast Sancho
4 hours