Assembly elections on hold

-EC, others dragged to court over constitutional breaches

Kwabena Amankwah

The 28th December district assembly elections face an imminent danger and a possible postponement following a legal action initiated at the Supreme Court against the Electoral Commission, the Attorney-General and the Minister for Local Government and Rural Development for alleged contravention of the 1992 Constitution.

A writ filed at the Supreme Court by six residents of the Krowor constituency in the Greater Accra Region is seeking a relief for a declaration that “the Local Government (Creation of New District Electoral Areas and Designation of Units) Instrument, L.I.1993 which came into force on 24th November, 2010 was made in contravention of Article 11(7) of the 1992 Constitution.”

The writ, dated 6th December, 2010 was filed on behalf on the plaintiffs by their counsel, Hon. J. Ayikoi Otoo of Otoo and Associates.

The plaintiffs, Stephen Nii Bortey Okane, Sheriff Bortei Borquaye, Anum Kattah, Eric Tawiah, Edward Borkety and Alfred Mensah, are also praying the court to declare as null and void the said L.I. 1993.

They are further praying the Court to restrain the Electoral Commission from holding “any District level and Unit elections scheduled to take place on 28th December 2010, based upon the said Local Government (Creation of New District Electoral Areas and Designation of Units) Instrument L.I.1993 which came into force on 24th November, 2010.”

Plaintiffs recall that the 1st defendant in the suit, the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, laid before Parliament after cabinet approval and gazette, the Local Government(Creation of New District Electoral Areas and Designation Units) Instrument on 19th Day of October, 2010, being the date it was gazetted and in accordance with the Constitution.

Pursuant to Order 77 of the Standing Orders of the Parliament of Ghana, the Hon Speaker of Parliament referred the Instrument to the Committee on Subsidiary Legislation “which said Order has words in-pari materia with Article 11(7) of the 1992 Constitution.

Plaintiffs contend that when the Instrument was laid before Parliament on the 19th October, 2010, the Ledzokuku-Krowor Municipal Assembly had 24 Electoral Areas shared equally between Ledzokuku(Teshie) and Krowor(Nungua).

They add that with the new arrangement the original four Electoral Areas in both Krowor and Ledzokuku were increased to 12 each.

Thus at the time the Speaker of Parliament referred the Instrument to the Committee on Subsidiary Legislation of Parliament, the number of Electoral Areas in the Municipality stood at 24.

“However, on 24th day of November 2010, Parliament announced that the said Instrument…had come into force. A close study of the Instrument … revealed that the number Twenty-Four (24) for Ledzokuku-Krowor Municipal Assembly had metamorphosed into Twenty Eight (28) Electoral Areas with Krowor remaining at Twelve (12),” the writ noted.

The contention of the plaintiffs is that the Instrument gazetted on 19th October, 2010 and referred to the Committee on Subsidiary Legislation of Parliament was not what has now been passed as L.I.1993.

“This is because the Ledzokuku-Krowor list of Electoral Areas of 24 which changed dramatically to 28 was not as a result of not less than 2/3rds of all Members of Parliament annulling the said Instrument before the expiration of Twenty One (21) sitting days, in accordance with Article 11(7) of the Constitution,” plaintiffs argue.