Senior Ghanaian legal brain, Professor Stephen Kwaku Asare, has lauded pressure group #FixTheCountry for their petition to the presidency demanding the removal of the nation’s current election management body.
FixTheCountry on Monday January 10, 2022, filed a petition at the presidency demanding the removal of the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Jean Mensa and other officers of the Commission in connection with the denial of the right of the people Santrokofi, Akpafu, Likpe, and Lolobi(SALL) to vote in the 2020 parliamentary election.
The petition, according to one of the conveners, Oliver Barker-Vormawor is in accordance with Article 146 of the 1992 constitution and is signed by 46 members of the #FixTheCountry movement.
Reacting to the petition in a Facebook post sighted by GhanaWeb, Kwaku Azar who has been advocating for the recognition of the rights of the people SALL described the filing of the petition as an important step.
The legal practitioner in his post sought to draw similarities and differences between a petition that saw the removal of Madam Charlotte Osei, the predecessor of Madam Jean Mensa from office.
“This is an important step and the petition’s outcome will surely be contrasted with that of the Forson Ampofo et al. petition, where the EC members were found culpable and removed for breaching the procurement act.
“Of course, whereas the breach in the Forson Ampofo et al. petition was not related to the EC’s core function, the breach in the extant petition is about elections.
“Moreover, while the former petition was not a violation of the Constitution, the latter is about a violation of the Constitution,” he stated.
The case of SALL
The Electoral Commission of Ghana on the eve of the 2020 general election issued a release announcing the exclusion of the people of SALL from voting in the parliamentary election.
The people of SALL who were however allowed to participate in the presidential election, since the inception of Ghana’s Eight Parliament have been without representation in the legislative house.
The situation of SALL has led to multiple advocacy efforts from citizens and groups impressing on the electoral commission to do the needful to give the people of SALL parliamentary representation.
According to some critics, the current situation is a worrying breach of the constitution and more troubling is the lack of legal consequence coming to bare.
ghanaweb.com
