Nomination forms for Assembly Members in Tamale Metro delays

Tamale, July 20, GNA - Madam Safura Fuseini, an aspiring Assembly Member at the Choggu Hill Top Electoral Area in Tamale on Thursday, expressed concern about the delay in providing nomination forms for aspiring candidates in the impending district level and Unit Committee elections.

Madam Fuseini told the GNA that the undue delay by the Metro Electoral office in providing the forms in the Tamale Metro was frustrating and expressed the fear that they may not be able to meet the deadline, if the forms were not providing before the close of day on Thursday, July 20, 2006.

She explained that the deadline, which was scheduled for Monday July 24, was very close and the process of filling was a bit cumbersome and appealed to the EC to make the forms available in good time. She said she had been in the Tamale Metro office with many other contestants on three different occasions for the forms but were told that the forms were not yet in.

Madam Fuseini, who is an Assistant Administrator at the Tamale Metro Education Unit said, "Some of my friends in the region have received the forms and I don't know why Tamale Metro should not have forms for us to file".

Mr Nuhu Mahama, Tamale Metro Electoral Officer told the GNA that the forms were ready but that the EC needed clarification from the Ministry of Local Government and Environment (MLGE) as to whether the Dagbon Electoral Area elections that were conducted late, should serve a four-year term or should be included in the impending elections. He explained that during the State of Emergency in parts of Dagbon, the district level elections were withheld in those areas. He said current Assembly Members in those areas were now contending that the Constitution mandated them to serve for a four-year term and they still considered themselves Members, since they had not finished serving their four-year term.

Mr Mahama appealed to aspiring Assembly Members in those areas to remain patient and wait for clearance from the local government, adding that, as soon as the air was cleared the forms would be made available to them.