“Suspend creation of 45 constituencies” –Eastern Youth Network

Eastern Youth Network, a youth organization, has called on the Electoral Commission (EC) to suspend the creation of the 45 constituencies towards the December election.

The call was made through a petition sent to the EC after a demonstration by the group in Koforidua on Wednesday.

The spokesperson of the group, Nana Asafo-Agyei Ayeh, who read the petition on behalf of the group, said considering the limited time to the December polls, the EC should rather concentrate on other programmes towards the election in order to have transparent polls.

The petition said though it acknowledges the powers of the EC to undertake periodic review, it viewed the procedure adopted by the EC to create the constituencies as inconsistent with article 47 of the Constitution of the Republic of Ghana.

“We deem it preposterous and a grievous illegality to find the EC working in tandem with the Government to conduct primaries in non-existing constituencies”, the group maintained.

The group said countries like Kenya and Cote d’ Ivoire were thrown into flames because of similar happenings when the EC decided not to listen to wise counsel from civil society organizations.

“We the members of Eastern Youth Network wish to state our stance on the issues by calling on the EC to listen to concerns being raised by civil society organizations and suspend the creation of the constituencies in the interest of peace”.

The Deputy Eastern Regional Director of the EC, Mr. Eric Osei Bonsu, who received the petition on behalf of the Commission, assured that the petition would be forwarded to the Chairman of the EC as soon as possible.

The demonstrators numbering about 700 marched through some principal streets of Koforidua.