Politics of Friday, 3 June 2016
Source: Graphic.com.gh
Mr Jacob Osei Yeboah
An Independent Presidential Candidate in the 2012 polls, Mr Jacob Osei Yeboah, has asked the Electoral Commission (EC) to strictly enforce Article 55 of the 1992 Constitution and Political Parties’ Law 2000, (Act 574) that regulate the activities of political parties in Ghana.
That, he said, would not only sanitise the activism of pseudo political parties in national discourse but would also serve as a gateway to nurturing respect of the law by real and active political parties.
In a letter written to the EC, a copy of which the Daily Graphic has, Mr Yeboah, popularly referred to as JOY, said the enforcement of the 1992 Constitution Article 55 and Political Parties’ Law, Act 574 would guide the behaviour of political parties in Ghana.
Article 55 of the 1992 constitution touches on the organisation of political parties. Among others, it mandates political parties to have branches in all the regions of Ghana and, in addition, be organised in not less than two-thirds of the districts in each region.
The political parties law 2000, Act 574, on the other hand, talks about the founding and registration of political parties, operations of political parties and funding of political parties.
In the opinion of Mr Yeboah, there was the need for the EC to correct what he calls “the unconstitutional supervision of the operations of political parties since it had piloted pseudo multiparty democracy in Ghana.”
“However, with hindsight, [it can be said that] the results have been activism and lawlessness of mostly mediocre political parties perpetrated without scruples,” he pointed out.
Making a case with the EC’s granting of a certificate to the All People’s Congress (APC), led by its founder Dr Hassan Ayariga, Mr Yeboah asked the EC to explain to Ghanaians on what bases it gave out the certificate since the constitutional requirement demanded that every political party must have presence in two-thirds of the Constituencies across the country.
According to Mr Yeboah, “there is no discretionary sanction to unconstitutionality except as spelt out in the 1992 Constitution Article (1) clause (2)”.
Mr Yeboah also stated that the credibility of this year’s election relied heavily on the ability of the EC to provide and create a credible Biometric Voters Register (BVR).
He said although the Supreme Court admonished the EC to accommodate wise counsel from Ghanaians in spite of its independence granted by Article 46 of the 1992 constitution, ‘’The EC has the power to freely take initiative to create a more credible election for the stability of the nation.