General News of Monday, 15 April 2019

Source: classfmonline.com

Change local poll date or we head to SC – Assembly members to EC

EC Chairperson, Jean Mensa EC Chairperson, Jean Mensa

A group of angry Assembly members has hinted at dragging the Electoral Commission to the Supreme Court to challenge its decision to conduct the upcoming local level poll on 26 November 2019 instead of September 2019.

According to the aggrieved members of the group, the EC will be committing illegality if it holds the poll in November.

The group explained that the tenure of the current assemblies is set to expire on the midnight of 4 October to pave the way for new Assembly members to be inaugurated the following day, 5 October 2019.

Holding the polls in November will, thus, be two months late, the group said – a situation that will leave a vacuum.

The group is, therefore, of the view that the decision must review its date so as not to force the assemblies to shut down.

The group’s convener, Dr Richard Fiadomor, who is a former Presiding Member of the Tema Metropolitan Assembly, told Class91.3FM in an interview that: “We are currently doing some consultations and talking to some lawyers. If it gets to the stage where we have to invoke the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, we will do that”.

He asked the EC “not sleep on the job”.