Sammy Gyamfi, the National Communications Officer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has hit back at the Electoral Commission of Ghana (EC) after the commission criticized a recent statement he authored.
Speaking in an interview on 3FM on Wednesday, June 7, 2023, Sammy Gyamfi questioned the EC’s defense, stating that past occurrences of a similar nature do not justify current actions.
He further challenged the EC’s explanation that the concerns he raised had also happened in the past, suggesting that this did not excuse any potential violations of the law. He emphasized that simply because something had occurred previously did not make it legally permissible.
The NDC’s National Communications Officer further criticized the EC’s stance, questioning whether the commission was suggesting that they should be allowed to continue engaging in actions that they themselves admitted were incorrect in the upcoming Assin North by-election.
“A multitude of illegalities does not constitute legality. They have now conceded that they have been doing the wrong things in times past. Are they saying that we should allow them to continue doing the wrong thing? What kind of warped logic is that?” he added.
*What Sammy Gyamfi said: *
Sammy Gyamfi had alleged that the EC only relied on the 1992 Constitution to make the case that a person need not be a registered voter in the constituency in which he/she intends to stand for election. He asserts that the EC should have also relied on CI 127 and, in particular, the Nomination Form contained in CI 127 before arriving at the conclusion that a person need not be a registered voter in the same constituency he/she intends to contest.
To buttress his point, he states that the phrase ‘of the same constituency” on the Parliamentary Nomination Form implies that a candidate for parliamentary election must be a registered voter in the same constituency he/she intends to contest and that the phrase ‘of the same constituency” on the Nomination Form should override the Constitution. This argument is flawed.
“We the undersigned registered voters in ………………… Constituency do hereby nominate…………. ‘of the same Constituency’ to stand for election as a Member of Parliament, and we hereby certify that to the best of our knowledge he/she is qualified to be elected as such.”
Read the EC’s full Rejoinder below
RE: ELIGIBILITY OF QUALIFIED NPP PARLIAMENTARY ASPIRANT IN THE ASSIN NORTH BY-ELECTION
TRANSPARENCY FAIRNESS INTEGRITY ELECTORAL COMMISSION GHANA
The attention of the Electoral Commission has been drawn to another misleading statement by the National Communication Officer of the NDC.
The Commission in its previous response to the National Communication Officer, stated that per Article 94 of the 1992 Constitution, a person qualifies to contest as a candidate for a Parliamentary Election so long as he is a registered voter, at least 21 years of age, hails from or, is a resident, or has resided in the constituency for a total of five (5) years in the last ten (10) years preceding the election he/she seeks to contest. This is the position of the 1992 Constitution which is the fundamental law of Ghana.