Cancellation of District Level Elections

Officials  at the Electoral Commission especially those at its legal department need to bow their heads in shame for dragging the image of the Commission and that of the nature at large into the mud for the Supreme Courts cancellation of the District level election. 

These officials through their actions and inactions have caused financial loss to the state and need to be surcharged for such ineptitude. 

The Supreme Court last Friday by an unanimous decision stopped the Electoral Commission from going ahead with the conduct of the District level elections with just about three days for the conduct of the elections. 

The ruling by the court follows a petition by a fisherman from Winneba, Benjamin Eyi Mensah who had been disqualified from contesting the District Assembly elections on the grounds that he filed it out of time. Lawyers of the EC relied on Constitutional Instrument 78 not to accept Mr. Eyi Mensah's candidate lure when in actual fact that instrument was not listed in the EC's manual. 

The court admitted it was mandatory for the EC to hold District level elections under Article 45 and 57 of the 1992 constitution. 

This faux pas by the Electoral Commission has caused the state a colossal loss since ballot papers were already  in their custody and notice of polls had then been printed and posted at vantage points in the electoral areas. 

Again the prospective Assembly member have spent monies in printing their posters and spent man hours in  campaigning and in some cases given transport fares to their polling agents and some of their supporters.

The ruling by the  Supreme Court is a big dent on the Electoral Commission which had been widely acclaimed as one of the best in Africa. The Chairman of the  Commission, Dr. Kodwo Afari Djan had a day prior  to the judgement been acknowledged by President Mahama for his dedication to work. 

A well respected Dr. Afari Djan had supervised six general elections in Ghana since 1992 and would be handling his last major assignment had the District Assembly elections taken place this month. 

In the last general election, Dr. Afari Djan escaped ridicule and avoided the cancellation of the polls by hairs breath by the Supreme Court for some infractions tabled by the opposition NPP. 

IN fact some of the aspirants in the election had newly taken the EC to court for disqualifying them for late submission of their nomination forms. Some of the alleged guilty ones were Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings and Akua Donkor. whatever it is mother Ghana is the victor in the supreme court's cancellation of the District Assembly polls. 

This will teach the the EC a lesson, that they are not Lord's unto themselves.  Dr. Kwadwo Afari Djan takes Vicarious responsibility for the failings of his staff, after all, the buck stops with him.  

The cancellation of the District Assembly polls is likely to draw back the local  sector, government since the Assemblies have been dissolved, and a vacuum created in the decision-making process.  

Sanitation is likely to suffer in the communities since the Assembly members were then largely in charge of monitoring the collection of refuse.  Some of them because they are no longer in office, can no longer collect tolls, from the public toilets and water pumps for maintenance.  

In a number of communities some disgruntled youth have takes over these vital assets.  It hoped the Electoral commission, will work fast to come up with a new time table for the District Assembly elections now that the constitutional Instrument C185 has mature.  

It is not for nothing that the Electoral Commission has a legal department.  The department is supposed to guide and advise the commission, in all its dealings with the public as far as interpretations of the statutes are concerned.  

If the banner headline of a national daily the next day that judgement was given to the Fisherman is anything to go by, then lawyers at the EC must demand a refund of their school fees from the Ghana Legal Council.  

The Electoral Commission as a public institution, funded with the tax payers money must eschew arrogance and complacency for we do not want again what the Gas will call 'abeshie', from the Electoral Commission.  Once bitten, twice shy, they say.  

BY JUSTICE MINGLE A JOURNALIST