EC start procedures to establish Guan constituency

For the purpose of establishing the Guan Constituency in the Oti Region, the Electoral Commission (EC) has submitted a Constitutional Instrument (C.I.) to Parliament.

When the C.I. is approved by Parliament, it will allow residents of the Guan Constituency, which includes the traditional areas of Santrokofi, Akpafu, Likpe, and Lolobi (SALL), to cast a ballot in the 2024 general election in order to be represented in the next parliament beginning on January 7, 2025.

In an interview with the Daily Graphic yesterday, the Director of Electoral Services of the EC, Dr. Serebour Quaicoe, announced that all stakeholder interactions for the formation of the constituency had come to an end.

According to him, the residents of SALL had decided that the constituency’s name, Guan, and its capital, Likpe-Mate, should both be the same as the district’s and the counstituency’s respective names.

The citizens of SALL participated in the presidential election at the 2020 general election, but they were unable to vote in the parliamentary election since the EC did not have enough time to provide the C.I. to Parliament for the establishment of the constituency.

This time around, according to Dr. Quaicoe, all necessary preparations, including the engagements and pre-laying stage, had been completed. When Parliament reopened its regular session, the 21-day deadline for the C.I. for the creation of the Guan constituency to be passed by December 2023 would be met.

According to him, doing so would allow the residents of SALL to cast a ballot in the legislative election of 2024 and gain representation in the legislature.

Dr. Quaicoe clarified that even though the Guan district assembly was established in November 2020, there was not enough time for the EC to present the C.I. to Parliament prior to the general election in December, which is why residents of SALL were unable to participate in the 2020 parliamentary election.

Source: Ghanatodayonline.com