Two Gomoa East assemblymen drag Electoral Commission to court

Gomoa Potsin, (C/R), May 12, GNA- Two Members of the Gomoa East District Assembly has filed a suit against the Electoral Commission (EC) and the Presiding Member (PM) of the Assembly at the Agona Swedru High Court to declare the election of the District Chief Executive null and void.

The plaintiffs were also seeking an order to compel the EC and PM, the two defendants, to conduct fresh election for the Gomoa East Assembly to either confirm or reject the President's nominee, Mr Theophilus Kofi Ampah as District Chief Executive. The plaintiffs are Mr James Sappor and Mr Mark Panyin Bentil, both elected members of the Assembly from Gomoa Nyanyano Upper and Gomoa Ojobi Electoral areas respectively.

The Plaintiffs said on 7th April, 2009, Mr Theophilus Ampah was nominated by President John Evans Attah Mills as the District Chief Executive for Gomoa East to be confirmed by the assembly. They noted that 28 April 2009 was fixed for the Gomoa East Assembly Members to vote to confirm the nomination of the nominee. According to them, as a requirement of the Electoral laws of Ghana, the nominee was to nominate an agent to witness the counting of the votes on his behalf.

Plaintiffs said in the view of the general public and in the presence of witnesses, the nominee nominated one Edward Mintah, Assemblyman for Gomoa Ekwamkrom to witness the counting of the votes on his behalf.

They further claimed that the nominee's agent was physically prevented from representing him and rather one Peter Kwesi Essel who did not have the mandate, permission and authority from the nominee, purportedly stood for the nominee as an agent. The plaintiffs said when the votes were counted; the nominee could not get the two/third majority required, and therefore lost the chance of to be made the District Chief Executive for the Gomoa East Assembly. They said after the counting the nominee decided to confer with his nominated agent Mr Edward Mintah only to be told that he was physically prevented from representing him (the nominee), making him suspicious of the whole voting process.

The Plaintiffs noted that the nominee would have easily sailed through had his agent been present as "a lot of behind the scene events happened" that made him miss the required percentage. The two Assembly members said the election of 28th April, 2009 was "irregular and therefore must be cancelled as it infringed upon the rights of the nominee as a Ghanaian and also as a prospective District Chief Executive of the Gomoa East making a mockery of the District Assembly concept".