Lower Manya District Level Elections Postponed

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The Lower Manya Krobo District Level Elections slated for tomorrow Tuesday, January 17, 2023 have been adjourned.

This follows an application for injunction filed against the Electoral Commission at the High Court in Koforidua.

In a statement, the EC said, a new date will be communicated in due course.

Two persons in Lower Manya Krobo Municipality in Eastern Region secured interlocutory injunction from the court against the Electoral Commission conducting the District level election in the municipality.

The applicants Michael Tetteh, and Angel Agyemang, both residents of Agormanya and Asitey respectively are restraining the respondent, the Electoral Commission and its agents or officers from conducting the District Level Elections in Lower Manya Krobo until the final determination of the case on violation of their constitutional right to vote in the upcoming elections pursuant to article 33 of the 1992 constitution of Ghana.

According to the applicants, the commission has failed to conduct voters’ registration exercise to enable them to register having attained 18 years.

Paragraph 8 of the affidavit by the applicants’ states “that since turning 18, we have not had any opportunity to register in order to vote or be qualified to be elected as Assembly Members in the Lower Manya Krobo District Assembly.”

They added “we have been further advised and believe same to be true that our right to vote is likely to be contravened if the Respondent is allowed to conduct the district level elections in Lower Manya Krobo district level election”.

The applicants prayed the court to restrain the Electoral Commission from conducting the elections until the commission conducts the voters’ registration exercise in accordance with article 45(a) of the constitution. The Electoral Commission is mandated to compile the register of voters and revise it at such periods as may be determined by law.

The Municipality was scheduled to hold the district level election on January 17, 2023 which a total of 127 male candidates are vying to represent their electoral areas whilst 280 are contesting the Unit Committee polls.

The district level elections were not held for eight years in Lower Manya Krobo due to a dispute between the Municipality and Dangme West District, now known as Shai-Osudoku over 11 electoral areas created at Akuse.

The dispute which started with the defection of some of Akuse assembly members to the then Dangme West District, was, however, settled by a Supreme Court ruling in favour of Lower Manya Krobo.

The election of Assembly members and unit committee members was immediately held in 2013 and subsequent periods however the election has not been conterminous with the national calendar of the electoral commission.

By: dailyguidenetwork.com