Haruna Iddrisu to drag EC to court

The Member of Parliament for Tamale South, Haruna Iddrisu, says he will file a motion at the Supreme Court for interpretation should the Electoral Commission (EC) conduct District Assembly and Unit Committee elections in Tamale and at Yendi.

He says the EC will be interfering with the Constitution if it goes ahead to conduct elections in those areas. The constitution mandates Assembly Members a four-year term but the current Assembly Members in Tamale and Yendi have not served their mandatory term.

The elections in those areas were delayed because of the State of Emergency in parts of Dagbon following the chieftaincy crisis.

Mr. Iddrisu says any attempt by the EC to conduct elections in those areas would be in violation of the Constitution because the Commission has no legal and constitutional right to do so until the present members served their full term.

"I have therefore asked Mr. Mohammed Ayariga, Member of Parliament for Bawku Central to file a motion at the Supreme Court for interpretation against the elections", he said.

The Dagbon Electoral Area elections were conducted late because of the State of Emergency in parts of Dagbon following the chieftaincy crisis that led to the death of Ya-Na Yakubu Andani II in 2002. Mr. Iddrisu announced his intention to file the motion at the Supreme Court at a one-day enhancement workshop for persons with disabilities from the Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions in Tamale.

Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-G) and Action on Disability and Development (ADD -G) organised the forum for 45 persons with disabilities to enhance their capacity and encourage them to participate in the district level elections.

Mr. Iddrisu suggested that political parties should support persons with disabilities financially and encourage them to contest elections in their strongholds to enable them to win elections. "This is one of the effective ways we can promote the participation of persons with disabilities in our democratic process", he said.

Mr. Iddrisu said the involvement of persons with disabilities in the democratic process should not be narrowed to the District Assembly and Unit Committee elections alone, but also in the national politics.

He said persons with disabilities should be made to enjoy all the benefits of the 1992 constitution and urged all institutions in the country to comply with the provisions of the disable bill. Mr. Iddrisu advocated for free education for persons with disabilities and their families, saying:

"They form about 10 per cent of our population and this is not beyond the scope of the government social responsibility".