C.I. 78 ready but …
Mrs Joyce Bamford Addo
Parliament is this morning set to begin the debate on the controversial Representation of the People (Parliamentary Constituencies) Instrument 2012 (C.I.7, which is expected to be passed into law tomorrow, with its numerous errors.
The Committee on Subsidiary Legislation, chaired by the Member of Parliament for Nsuta/Kwamang-Beposo, Kwame Osei-Prempeh, has by majority decision recommended to the House to annul the C.I.78 because of its numerous discrepancies.
Per the dictates of the Constitution, the House needs at least two-thirds majority of all MPs to effect the annulment, failure of which the C.I.78 will automatically become law on Tuesday, after exhausting the twenty-one sitting days required to mature into law.
Article 11(7) (c) of the Constitution states that: 'Any Order, Rule or Regulation made by a person or authority under a power conferred by this Constitution or any other law shall come into force at the expiration of twenty-one sitting days after being so laid unless Parliament, before the expiration of the twenty-one days, annuls the Order, Rule or Regulation by the votes of not less than two-thirds of all the Members of Parliament.'
With the poor attendance of the emergency sitting, the above mentioned demand by the Constitution looks impossible, thereby, allowing the C.I.78 to automatically mature into law by the close of Tuesday with all its numerous defects.
All the various C.I's introduced by the Electoral Commission (EC) with regard to the creation of new Parliamentary Constituencies - from C.I. 73 through to C.I. 77 were all plagued with serious errors, omission of existing electoral areas and the addition of new electoral areas leading to their eventual withdrawal from the House by the sponsor of the instrument (EC).
The new C.I.78 – which was laid in Parliament on September 4, 2012, is no exception to the earlier ones introduced by the EC, as it has also been plagued with errors, omission of electoral areas and addition of new electoral areas; a situation inside observers are finding it very difficult to believe.
The C.I.78 seeks to revoke the existing Representation of the People (Parliamentary Constituencies) Instrument, 2004 (C.I.46) and create additional forty-five Parliamentary Constituencies to bring the total of seats to 275 in the next session of the legislature.
Should the C.I.78 becomes law, it means that eligible voters in twenty-six existing electoral areas under the Local Government (Creation of new District Electoral Areas and Designation of Units) Instrument, 2010 (L.I.1983) shall be excluded from exercising their franchise in the upcoming Presidential and Parliamentary elections as those electoral areas are missing from the instrument.
This omission, according to the Report of the Committee on Subsidiary Legislation chaired by the MP for Nsuta/Kwamang-Beposo, Kwame Osei-Prempeh, affected thirty-four constituencies across the ten regions of the country.
Among some of the omitted electoral areas include; Kojokrom in the Sefwi Akontombra Constituency; Krayawkrom in Juaboso/Bodi Constituency, Atintan in the Assin North/Assin Central Constituency; Alavanyo in the Hohoe/Afadjato South Constituency; Shiare/Kromase in Nwanta South Constituency; Beposo in the Tano South Constituency; Fiankoma and Abota in the Odotobri and Ejura Sekyedumase Constituencies; Kunyukuon in the Wa Central Constituency as well as Nadundo in the Yendi/Mion Constituency.
That notwithstanding, the C.I.78 has twenty-two new electoral areas introduced in it which under L.I.1983 are not existing electoral areas.
Some of them include; Kubease in the Tano South Constituency; Soe-Tamolga in the Bongo Constituency; Pentengsa in the Builsa South Constituency; Dobini and Nyoglo in the Yendi/Mion and Savelugu/Nanton Constituencies; Namonsa in the Builsa North Constituency and Ombo in the Nadowli/Kaleo and Daffiama/Bussie/Issa Constituency.
The Committee on Subsidiary Legislation in its report recommended among other things to Parliament to annul the C.I.78 since the legal effect of the omitted electoral areas was that voters in the affected constituencies were going to be disenfranchised and could therefore not be able to vote in the December polls since they were not part of the constituencies created by the EC.
Should Parliament to fail to annul to the C.I.78 but allow it to pass into law, it is only the court of competent jurisdiction that could intervene to halt the process in order not to disenfranchise any eligible voter from the upcoming general elections.
However, that could only be done if a citizen of the country files a suit against the EC to stop it from using the C.I.78 in the general polls.