The Electoral Commission (EC) has announced that a by-election in the Assin North Constituency would be held on Tuesday, June 27, 2023.
Chairperson of the Commission, Jean Mensa, explained that this is in accordance with Article 112 (5) of the Constitution, as amended.
According to her, this follows the Supreme Court’s judgment on Wednesday, May 17, 2023, that Mr. James Gyakye Quayson’s election as MP for the Assin North Constituency was “unconstitutional, null and void, and of no legal effect,” rendering the parliamentary seat vacant.
In a statement issued yesterday, she said, “Accordingly, the Commission will receive nominations from prospective candidates for the election of a Member of Parliament for the said constituency,” with a filing fee of GH¢10,000 per candidate.
“The nominations will be received at the Assin North District Office of the Commission from Monday, the 12th of June, 2023 to Wednesday, the 14th of June, 2023 between the hours of 9:00 am – 12:00 pm and 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm on each day,” she noted.
The EC boss said interested candidates are required to download the nomination forms from the Commission’s website (www.ec.gou.gh) from June 1, 2023.
On the dates and times specified above, a prospective candidate may personally bring or cause to be delivered on his/her behalf by either the proposer or seconder of his/her nomination, the completed nomination forms to the Returning Officer at the Commission’s Assin North District Office.
She added that each candidate’s nomination forms must be witnessed by the signature or mark of two (2) registered voters, as proposer and seconder, and supported by 18 other registered voters in the constituency as assenting to the nominations.
The nomination forms shall also be endorsed with the candidate’s consent to the nomination, Mrs. Mensa elucidated.
She continued that a candidate shall at the time of submitting his/her completed nomination forms, provide the Returning Officer with two (2) copies of a recent post card (bust size) photograph against a red background, showing his/her full face and ears.
“All completed nomination forms are expected to be delivered in quadruplicate,” the EC chairperson directed, and urged the public to be guided accordingly.
NPP Nomination
Meanwhile, the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) yesterday announced the opening of nominations for potential parliamentary candidates who wish to represent the party in the upcoming by-election in the Central Region’s Assin North Constituency.
NPP General Secretary, Justin Kodua Frimpong said in a statement that nomination forms would be available at the constituency party office for purchase.
He added that the nomination period is expected to end June 1, 2023, and that the party would choose its parliamentary candidate on Wednesday, June 7, 2023.
Mr. Frimpong said the party at its Steering Committee (SC) meeting held on Tuesday, May 30, 2023, approved the timetable for the by-election.
He added that the party also approved detailed rules and regulations to govern the conduct of the parliamentary primary election which would be made available to stakeholders.
The move comes after Parliament notified the Electoral Commission (EC) of the occurrence of a vacancy in the Assin North Constituency necessitated by the judgment of the Supreme Court on May 17, 2023.
Clerk to Parliament, Cyril Kwabena Oteng Nsiah, in a letter dated May 29, 2023, explained that this was in the exercise of the power conferred and the duty imposed on him by Section 3 of the Constitution of Ghana (Amendment) Act 1996 (Act 527).
In reference to the writ no. J1/11/2022 issued in the instance of Michael Ankomah Nimfah vrs James Gyakye Quayson, he urged that the Chairperson of the EC, Jean Mensa, take necessary consequential actions as required by law.
The Supreme Court ordered that the name of James Gyakye Quayson be removed from Parliament’s records after ruling that the deposed MP failed to renounce his Canadian citizenship when he filed his candidacy forms to run in the parliamentary election.
NPP Confidence
Ahead of the by-election, the NPP is brimming with confidence to annex the seat.
The NPP’s Director of Communications, Richard Ahiagbah, stated that the party had taken the necessary steps to oust the NDC from the seat.
He told JoyNews that the party had resolved the issues that had caused it to lose the seat to the NDC in 2020 and that it will triumph in the upcoming by-election just like Kumawu.
“We’re going to Assin and make our case to the good people of Assin North, who we know are supportive of the New Patriotic Party,” he said.
He asserted that the NDC’s delusion that they would win this by-election will be evident after the election.
“We’ll win that election rather convincingly. Like the process we began in Kumawu, our march to 2024 will continue in Assin North,” Mr. Ahiagbah intimated.
By Ernest Kofi Adu