87 to Contest Regional Council of State Elections

Eighty-seven individuals have filed nominations to contest the Regional Council of State elections on Tuesday, March 20.

A source at the Electoral Commission (EC) disclosed in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Accra that only five out of the total number are women.

Statistics available to the GNA indicates that the following regions filed only male candidates: Greater Accra, six; Volta, eight; Eastern, 14; Ashanti, 14; Brong Ahafo, seven; Upper West, eight.

The rest are Western: one female and ten male; Central: two female and eleven male and Northern: two female and four male candidates. The Upper East Region has not filed any nomination.

The EC had earlier postponed the election from February 27, 2001. The public election regulations stipulate the selection of one representative each by the ten regions as a member of the council of state.

The Regulations state that each region should constitute an electoral college of two representatives each from the district assembles to elect the regional representative to the council, which is an advisory body to the government.

A candidate who obtains the highest valid votes cast at the elections shall be declared elected and where two or more people obtain the highest votes the process of elections shall continue until one is elected.

The public elections regulations state that except otherwise provided, the existing electoral laws shall apply to the Council of State election with modifications and adaptations as directed by the commission.

After the election the EC would furnish the President with the names of the ten elected regional representatives and publish the results in the Gazette.