Gov’t urged to pay equal attention to Assembly bye-elections

Voter2People in the Upper East Region have appealed to the government to pay equal attention to Assembly bye-elections just like it does for  parliamentary bye-elections.

They said it was important for government to make funding available to the Electoral Commission (EC) to conduct District Assembly bye-elections throughout country to fill vacant seats.

The people said they wondered why governments over the years had failed to provide funding for the   EC to organize the District Assembly by-elections.

They said this at a forum on research findings on “Unfilled Vacant Assembly Seats and the Implications for Promoting Effective Participation in Local Governance.”

They said the law was clear that within 30 days Assembly bye-election should be conducted in electoral areas where Assembly members had either passed away or resigned.

The Coordinator of Turning Point Development Consultancy,  Mr Sumaila .S.  Saka,  said the study was carried out  in four vacant electoral areas in  Benzore (Nabdam District), Tongo Central(Talensi District),Anafobisi (Bongo)and Bador(Bawku Municipal)

He said the research revealed that the Focus Group Discussants were concerned about the unfilled Assembly vacant seats and that this had affected their ability to contribute effectively at the District Assembly deliberations.

“They generally agreed that their communities were no longer considered when it comes to the allocation of projects at the Assemblies because they are unrepresented”, the research showed.

The research findings also revealed that the electorates attached more importance to the District Assembly Elections than the Parliamentary elections, the reason being that the Assembly Members were very close to them and made their voices heard.

The research showed that expectations of the electorates from the Assembly members appeared ambitious as he or she is expected to bring development to communities, lobby the District Assembly for development projects and services, look for jobs for the youth, link the electorates with the District Assemblies, look  for schools for children and even sometimes pay their school fees.

The District Assemblies and the Electoral Commission officials interviewed were aware of the vacant electoral assembly seats and had written to the EC headquarters and the Local Government Ministry to initiate measures to hold the District Assembly bye-elections but nothing happened.

They acknowledged the importance of local elections in deepening democratic local governance as well as socio-economic development, but cited lack of funds as the major constraint.

Source: GNA

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