A native of one of the four communities that have no representation in the 8th Parliament has welcomed a call by the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, for a formal petition to be submitted to the House on the matter.
Franklin Cudjoe, who heads reputable think tank IMANI Africa, told Prime News that he was part of the meeting at which the Speaker made the appeal.
“We have been given another chance. Let's try it. The courts have at best frustrated us,†he said.
Mr Bagbin has advised residents and natives of Santrokofi, Akpafu, Lolobi and Likpe (SALL) to petition the House over their non-representation in the 8th Parliament, promising to provide guidance on how known facts about the matter can be amplified for the resolution of the impasse.
He wants a formal petition from the aggrieved residents that invokes the jurisdiction of Parliament to probe circumstances that have led to their non-presentation in the Legislature.
“We will create an opportunity for you to put it across the whole House. We want you to come through a petition because this is well known, and the facts are not hidden. We will direct you as to how to come through a petition,†the Speaker told a delegation of SALL residents that called on him on Monday, May 17, 2021.
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Although some have said the SALL issue can only be resolved in court, Mr Cudjoe clarified that the overarching objective of the Petition would be the commencement of a parliamentary enquiry into the matter.
The people of the four communities voted to elect a President in the 2020 elections, but they could not vote for a Member of Parliament.
The Electoral Commission (EC) in a statement released on the eve of the December 7 elections directed that SALL residents who fall within the Guan District could not vote in the parliamentary elections because the constituency that should have been created for them has not been done.
The EC had planned to create the Guan Constituency but that could not happen.
The situation has been described as a gross indictment of Ghana’s democracy.
Residents of SALL shortly after the December 7 elections dragged Hohoe MP, John Peter Amewu, and the EC to the High Court, for not being allowed to vote in that constituency in the December 2020 parliamentary elections.
They said by not voting in the elections, their rights have been breached.
They secured a 10-day injunction against the gazetting of John Peter Amewu as the winner of the polls.
State attorneys took the matter of the injunction granted by the High Court to the Supreme Court which ruled that the Ho High Court erred when it granted an injunction against the gazetting of John Peter Amewu MP-elect.
The Supreme Court ruling was appealed by the aggrieved SALL residents and on March 30, a seven-member panel that reviewed the decision of the original 5-member panel stated that no errors of law were committed by the judges to merit setting aside the decision.
The original 5-member panel was presided over by Justice Yaw Appau, with Justices Samuel K. Marful-Sau, Gertrude Torkornoo, Clemence Honyenuga, and Issifu Omoro Tanko.
Justice Honyenuga was later replaced by Justice Lovelace Avril Johnson with Justices Yonny Kulendi and Prof Henrietta Mensa-Bonsu added to constitute the 7-member panel.