Greater Accra Council of State elections called off

Accra, Feb. 24, GNA-The Electoral Commission (EC) on Tuesday indefinitely postponed the Council of State elections for the Greater Accra region due to the absence of the required Electoral College to vote.

According to the Electoral Law, two representatives from each of the district assemblies would constitute an electoral college to vote in the election, but the absence of fully constituted district assemblies in the region has delayed the process.

This is the second time the election has been postponed after the Ministry of Local Government initially asked for an extension of the election date to fully constitute all district assemblies.

" The EC was ready to conduct the elections but the Regional Coordinating Director is saying, the districts have not been fully constituted and therefore we could not have the electoral college", Mr Albert Kofi Arhin, Director of Elections for the EC told the media in Accra.

Mr Arhin explained under the Electoral Law the EC must conduct the elections within 14 days of closing nominations, which should have taken place on February 10, but it was postponed for another 14 days upon request by the Ministry.

Mr Arhin therefore expressed dismay that the Ministry had not yet constituted all assemblies and expressed uncertainty on whether or not the elections could come off.

He noted that the Law required that the elections must take place at the same time and date in all regional capitals, adding, "now that all the regions are holding their elections I can not tell whether it would be possible for us to have ours later".

He said the matter had been referred to the Regional Coordinating Director for further discussions with the Chairman of the EC, Dr. Kwadwo Afare-Djan.

One of the contenders, Mr Sulley Adamu Taylor expressed disappointment over the turn of events.

" I am not happy at all about how this election is been organised. We keep being disappointed and all our efforts and resources come to naught ".

Mr Adamu Taylor said he would seek legal counsel on the matter. In all, eight persons are contesting to represent the region in the Council of State.