I have noted with concern and rather incomprehensibly, the overt attempts by the government of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to usurp the powers the District Assemblies in the nomination of delegates to the Electoral College for the election of Regional Representatives to the Council of State in accordance with Article 89(c) of the 1992 Constitution.
The people of Ghana have been inundated with widespread reports of the government’s clandestine and surreptitious imposition of delegates on the various District Assemblies at the blind side of the Assembly Members which violates the dictates of the constitution of the Republic of Ghana.
This is an act of bad faith and smacks of democratic deception. Commendably, some Assembly Members who have proven to be adherents of democracy have been compelled to officially register their disagreement and displeasure over the issue, thereby calling on the government to desist from the practice and allow for the right thing to be done to ensure that the upcoming elections is free, fair, transparent and credible.
I doff my hat off to these Assembly Members for standing up to their civic responsibility and demanding for the right thing to be done.
As a Democrat and a firm believer and advocate of the rule of law, I am by this statement joining the clarion calls for the right thing to be done to give honour and legitimacy to whoever would be eventually elected to sit on the Council of State as a representative of the people. It is my considered view that the seat of government, acting through other agencies, would recognize their powers and cease to overstep their boundaries especially with regard to the elections scheduled for Friday, February 12, 2021 across the country.
It is not for nothing that the framers of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana gave the power to the president to appoint some members to the council with the rest of the members being elected by the people. Let us not trample upon the rights of the people in this flagrant manner which will defeat the very essence of having an independent minded Council of State to advise the president on matters of national interest and concern.
I call on all progressive-minded Ghanaians as well as Civil Society to rise against these unconstitutional acts and combine forces to stop this bad precedence, using available legitimate means, including court actions. We must ensure that that the right thing is done to safeguard our nascent democracy and rule of law – which are being undermined by the posture of the Nana Addo-led government.
Bernard Anbataayela Mornah
Political Activist
Bu saf altın, teşekkürler!