Govt won’t take advantage of coronavirus to extend mandate – Oppong Nkrumah

The government has firmly stated that it will not take advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic to extend its first-term mandate if the virus is not defeated ahead of the general elections.

There is considerable uncertainty presently as to how or when the COVID-19 crisis and associated public health restrictions will come to an end. Some experts estimate that it might take about a year for life to return to normal in most countries.

In Ghana, one immediate concern that has generated a lot of discussions on various media platforms is how the current situation will affect the conduct of the 2020 general elections.

Even assuming there is no slippage and the January 7, 2021 date for the commencement of the term of the next President holds, questions remain as to what the current uncertainties mean for the EC’s election calendar.

But addressing the press on Tuesday, the Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah strongly stated that the Akufo-Addo led government does not seek to take advantage of the current pandemic to extend its constitutionally mandated term in office.

According to Oppong Nkrumah, several countries in Africa have managed to hold elections despite the COVID-19 pandemic adding that the government will come up with innovative ways to hold elections if the killer virus persists until December 7.

Meanwhile, Ghana has recorded 427 new cases of the deadly COVID-19 within the last 48 hours pushing the country’s total number of cases to 5, 127.

Out of the 427 cases, 272 came from Obuasi in the Ashanti region alone, Dr Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, Director General of the Ghana Health Service said during Tuesday’s Press Conference.

Recoveries still remain at 494 with another 130 patients awaiting their second negative test to be declared recovered. 22 people have so far died from the killer bug with active cases at 4, 611.

Addressing the press, Dr Kuma-Aboagye explained that the Tema metropolis has become a major hotspot for the highly infectious disease. He added that more attention is being paid to Tema in order to maintain infections there.

In the Ashanti region, Kwadaso, Oforikrom all in Kumasi and the Obuasi are the major hotspots for the killer bug. In the Volta region, Ketu South is the major hotspot with some cases from Kpando.