Group sues EC, GoG over newly created districts & constituencies

A pressure group calling itself the Concerned Citizens of Ghana (CCG) have sued the Electoral Commission and the Government of Ghana over what it says are the illegal creation of districts, municipalities and constituencies.

The group filed a writ of summons praying the courts to declare the creation of the districts and constituencies as null and void.

The writ of summons sighted by RadioXYZonline.com states in part that:

“I am reliably informed that the government of the Republic of Ghana has through 1st defendant (Attorney-General) and for that matter, the Minister of Local Government & Rural Development, purportedly created a number of district and municipal assemblies by virtue of the Local Government (Creation of New Districts, Electoral Areas and Designations of Units) Instrument, 2010, L.I. 1983 (which was laid before parliament) and thereafter inaugurated a number of assemblies arising from the creation of the new districts and municipalities.”

The group says the creation of several of the new districts and municipalities constitute an illegality, adding that “in the re-alignment exercise, the government failed to address the associated problems of equity and fairness, by ensuring equal representation.”

The CCG argues that the government and the EC have clearly “evinced an intention of proceeding and/or continuing with the creation of the new and/or additional constituencies in such indecent haste and frenzy with resultant injustice, inequity, prejudice and discrimination to us, and the generality of Ghanaians, unless and until it is specifically restrained by this court from so doing.”

The group therefore wants the courts to declare that the creation of the new districts is in contravention of the provisions of the local government Act 1993, Act 462.

It is also praying the courts to retrain the EC from taking any decision based on the “illegal creation of the district and municipal assemblies; to wit the carving of any new and/or additional constituencies therefrom.”**