Members of the Ahafo Ano North Municipal Assembly (AANMA) in the Ashanti Region, last week, engaged in a serious debate over the actual number of members that constitute the two thirds majority of the assembly.
This debate was in the wake of the election of a Presiding Member for the assembly.
The model standing orders of the district assemblies and the local government Act 936 of 2016 state under the election of presiding members that a qualified person needs at least two thirds of the total membership of the assembly to win the race.
The composition of the AANMA is made up 39 elected members, 17 appointees, the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) and the Member of Parliament (MP) summing up to 58 members. Under the Act, the MP has no voting right at the assembly.
The whole issue started when a member of the assembly wanted to know from the house the total number of votes needed to constitute the two thirds majority since per his calculation two thirds of 58 would result in 38.666.
This got the house divided on whether to use the mathematics principle of running up the decimal which is more than 0.5 into a whole number making the figure 39, or throwing away the decimals to get a whole number of 38.
This debate lasted for close to an hour as the house was sharply divided on the issue.
Calm was restored at last when the Coordinating Director Augustine Peprah who was chairing the meeting called on the Municipal Officer of the Electoral Commission, Betty Mensah, to give a verdict on the matter relating to electoral laws of the country.
Her verdict was 39 and that the 38 used previously was a mistake and stated that the house should use the 39 as the two thirds majority in all its deliberation.
Interestingly, none of the sides raised an issue over the verdict and the election then followed.
The following were the results from the election; Thomas Forkuo had 23 votes, Boakye Danquah (incumbent) 22 votes and Francis Akakpo 12 votes. With none of the candidates securing the required 39 votes, the house was adjourned and is expected to reconvene within 10 days as stated by law, for another round of elections.
Earlier the assembly was inaugurated by the Ashanti Regional Member of the Council of State Nana Owusu Achiaw.
By Ernest Kofi Offen, ISD- Tepa