Curing the SALL problem: Godfred Dame proposes revocation of Guan District, new polls in Buem

The Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame, has provided an overview of the legal intricacies surrounding the representation of Santrokofi, Akpafu, Likpe, and Lolobi (SALL) in the current parliamentary session.

The A-G gave two possible solutions to the SALL conundrum in response to parliamentary questions posed by Members of Parliament Ebenezer Okletey Terlabi (Lower Manya Krobo) and Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa (North Tongu).

He reiterated in his submission on November 14 that the creation of the Guan District, established by the Local Government (Guan District Assembly) (Establishment) Instrument, 2020 (L. I. 2416), led to the removal of SALL from the Jasikan District.

However, due to time constraints, the necessary constitutional instrument for the creation of the Guan Constituency could not be laid before the last Parliament by the time it was dissolved in January 2021.

He explained that efforts to rectify the situation in 2021 included consultations and the drafting of instruments to create a new Guan Constituency, with the instruments submitted to Parliament by August 2023.

According to Dame, these instruments, the Representation of the People (Parliamentary Constituencies) (Amendment) Instrument, 2023, and the District Electoral Areas and Designation of Units (Amendment) Instrument, 2023, have been laid in Parliament as of October 31, 2023.

However, the effective date of the new Guan Constituency, as per Article 47(6) of the Constitution, is set for January 6, 2025, that is upon the next dissolution of Parliament, and to address the immediate representation gap, two routes were possible.

In his answer, a copy of which is available to GhanaWeb, he submitted: "revocation of L. I. 2416, leaving SALL under the Jasikan District and also annulment of the 2020 Parliamentary election for Buem Constituency, allowing SALL residents to vote for an MP within the Buem constituency."

Dame acknowledged a pending High Court case challenging the validity of the election of Kofi Adams as the Member of Parliament for Buem, which seeks to address the denial of SALL residents' right to vote in the December 2020 election.

AM/SARA

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