You are here: HomeNews2009 04 15Article 160600

General News of Wednesday, 15 April 2009

Source: GNA

ACC declares SRC President

Accra, April 15, GNA - The Electoral Commission of the Accra City Campus (ACC), University of the Ghana, has declared Mr Francis Agilinko, a Level-300 B. Sc. (Administration) student, winner of the Students' Representative Council presidential elections held on March 18, 2009.

He polled 353 votes, which is 33.43 per cent of the votes, to beat Mr Amissah Ishmael Kennedy also a Level-300 B. Sc. (Administration) student who came second with 284 votes, which is 26.89 per cent of the votes.

Mr Samuel Kofi Mensah, B.A. Level-300 student came third with 262 votes, which is 24.81 per cent while Mr Jonathan Jowel, B. Sc. Level-300 student came fourth with 157 votes, or 14.87 per cent.

The total votes were 1,071, while total valid votes were 1,056 and the total invalid votes 15.

A statement signed by Mr Bismarck Freduah-Mensah, Chairman, Electoral Commission, ACC, said in light of the result there should have been a run-off between Mr Amissah and Mr Agilinko. The statement said, however, due to the disqualification of Amissah as result of having been found culpable of electoral malpractices by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service after forensic investigation authorized by the Judicial Committee, the Electoral Commission rightly and constitutionally exercised its mandate and independence to declare Mr Agilinko the winner of the SRC presidential elections.

Ballot papers thumb-printed for Mr Amissah were found in the ballot box after voting.

The statement further said a referendum scheduled for April 15, to confirm Mr Agilinko as the winner has been cancelled. Meanwhile, the results for the position of SRC Secretary have been put on hold pending further investigations since the name of Mr Paul Osei-Bonsu, one of the candidates vying for that position, came up in the CID forensic report as a suspect in the case.