Members of Parliament (MPs) will be debating the report of the Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee of parliament on the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2016 which seeks to change the date of the general elections today in the chamber.
The debate is expected to be heated given the controversy surrounding it.
The report of the Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary committee, chaired by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament for Yilo-Krobo, Magnus Kofi Amoatey, was ready for the plenary yesterday but the debate was scheduled for today.
The committee, despite all the reservations raised by some stakeholders about the preparedness of the Electoral Commission (EC) in view of the time limit for the implementation of the bill, decided to recommend to the plenary to pass the Bill principally because of the Council of State’s view that the bill, when passed by parliament, will advance Ghana’s democracy and also help develop the country.
“The committee has critically examined the bill vis-à-vis the advice from the Council of State and the views of the participants at the public forum.
“The committee is also cautious of the implications of the change of date of the elections of both the president and Members of Parliament from December to November. It has also taken note of the firm commitment and assurance given by the chairperson of the EC and is of the view that the bill be passed,” the committee’s report said.
DAILY GUIDE has intelligence that Parliament could be deeply divided on the matter today as well as the final passage of the bill.
Most New Patriotic Party (NPP) MPs have taken entrenched position that the EC is not adequately prepared for the November 7 general elections while most NDC MPs think the new date is feasible and that the EC is prepared to do it.
Last Saturday on News File, the Editor-In-Chief of the New Crusading Guide, Kweku Baako, had also predicted that the Minority in Parliament is likely to vote against the bill to scuttle the whole process and thereby maintain the December 7 date for the elections based on his intelligence.
The committee, in its observations after its interactions with all the necessary stakeholders, noted that the calendar for the 2016 elections is very tight and therefore poses a challenge for the EC, with some members of the committee advocating for the bill to be either withdrawn or its implementation deferred to the next election which is 2020.
The committee, in its report, also said that the Attorney-General, Marietta Brew Appiah-Opong, who was also invited by the committee, informed the committee that since the bill is about constitutional amendment, its implementation could not be postponed to any other date.
By Thomas Fosu Jnr