The Electoral Commission of Ghana has publicized that elections of regional representatives to the Council of State will be held on Thursday, February 9, 2017.
In a statement signed by the Head of Communications at EC Eric Kofi Dzakpasu, it said “The Commission will be accepting nominations from prospective candidates for the election at the regional offices of the Commission from Friday, January 20 to Thursday January 26, 2017, from 8:00 am to 12:00noon and 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm on each dayâ€
The statement also added that venues will be determined by the Commission in the regional capitals.
Criteria needed to qualify for the regional elections:
1. A candidate shall be nominated on nomination forms which are available to pick up at the Regional Offices of the Commission from Tuesday, January 17, 2017 to Thursday, January 19, 2017. The nomination forms shall be completed and delivered in triplicate by the candidate, or his proposer, to the Regional Directors of the Commission before or on the aforementioned dates and times stated for the receipt of nominations.
2. The nomination paper shall be witnessed by the signature or thumb print of two registered voters, as proposer and seconder and supported by twenty registered voters in the Region, as assenting to the nominations.
3. A candidate shall, at the time of his/her nomination, deliver or cause to be delivered to the Regional Directors two copies of recent photographs, post card size (bust) on a red background.
Who qualifies to stand for Election to the Council?
To be eligible for election to the Council of State a prospective candidate must:
1. Be a citizen of Ghana
2. Be of sound mind
3. Be a registered voter
4. Be a resident or hail from the region which he/she seeks to represent.
A person shall not be qualified to be elected as a regional representative to the Council of State if:
1. He/She has been adjudged or otherwise declared bankrupt under any law in force in Ghana and has not been discharged.
2. He/She has been convicted for high crime under the Constitution, or high treason or for an offence involving the security of the State, fraud, dishonesty, or moral turpitude; or for any other offence punishable by death or by a sentence of not less than ten years.
3. He/She has been found by the report of a Commission, or a Committee of Inquiry to be incompetent to hold public office, or is a person in respect of whom a Commission or a Committee of Inquiry has found out that, while being in public, he acquired assets unlawfully, or defrauded the State, or misused his office, or acted in a manner prejudicial to the interest of the State, and the findings have not been set aside on appeal or judicial review.
4. He/She is under the sentence of death, or other sentences of imprisonment imposed on them by any court, or
5. Is a member of the Electoral College constituted for the election of the members of Council of State.