The Techiman Traditional Council, has urged the Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana to as a matter of urgency establish a new constituency within the existing Techiman South constituency.
The Traditional Council is of the view that, the creation of a new constituency within the existing Techiman South Constituency will significantly expedite the collation of election results in future polls, thereby preventing electoral violence in the area.
Oyeadeye Asa Akompanin, who is the Techiman Krobohene and Kyidomhene of the Techiman Traditional Area, on behalf of “Nananom”, made this plea at the forecourt of Oseadeyor Akumfi Ameyaw IV’s palace when the Techiman Traditional Council addressed the media and condemned the recent post-election violence in the constituency.
According to him, the delay in declaring results of the parliamentary elections has been a major contributor to post-election violence in the constituency.
“The Techiman South constituency is too big and because of that it has been elevated from being a municipality to a metropolis.
“We believe that the delay in declaring the parliamentary results is as a result of how big the constituency is. We have not heard of any violence in Techiman North in both 2020 and 2024 because the Techiman North constituency is not that big and that means the EC officers there can declare the results of the parliamentary elections without any delay.
“We therefore appeal to the Electoral Commission to kindly divide the Techiman South constituency in order to speed up the collation of votes in the near future because the constituency is too large.” Nana said.
The Electoral Commission of Ghana has the authority to create new constituencies.
Article 47 of the 1992 constitution of Ghana, stipulates when the EC could review the constituencies in the country, with clause two indicating that no constituency shall fall within more than one region.
Clause 3 astates that the boundaries of each constituency shall be such that the number of inhabitants in the constituency is, as nearly as possible, equal to the population quota.
Clause five says, “The Electoral Commission shall review the division of Ghana into constituencies at intervals of not less than seven years, or within twelve months after the publication of the enumeration figures after the holding of a census of the population of Ghana, whichever is earlier, and may, as a result, alter the constituencies.
“(6) Where the boundaries of a constituency established under this article are altered as a result of a review, the alteration shall come into effect upon the next dissolution of Parliament.
“(7) For the purposes of this article, “population quota” means the number obtained by dividing the number of inhabitants of Ghana by the number of constituencies ‘into which Ghana is divided under this article.”
The Guan constituency, is the last constitution created by the Electoral Commission in 2023 and was contested for the first time in the 2024 Ghanaian general election
The appeal by the Techiman Traditional Council, serves as a reminder of the need for ongoing efforts to improve the electoral process and promote peace and stability in the country.
Source: Elvisanokyenews.com
