Afari-Gyan Defends Creation Of New Constituencies

The Chairman of the Electoral Commission (EC), Mr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, has responded to his critics on the creation of the 45 constituencies, asking them to propose viable alternatives in the formula for the creation of new constituencies or hold their peace. He said the formula being used currently was an objective one and had been tested before. He also asked those threatening to kill him if he went ahead with it, to be dispassionate and sober and reflect on the issue, since he was only adhering to a constitutional obligation. Speaking at a high level forum organised by the Institute of Democratic Governance (IDEG) on the theme, “Two decades of electoral reforms in Ghana: the biometric voter registration systems in perspective,” Dr Afari-Gyan took the opportunity to clarify his position on the creation of the 45 constituencies. Primarily, he emphasised the fact that the creation of the constituencies was a constitutional requirement in Article 47 subsections 1 to 7 of the 1992 constitution and the responsibility of the EC. But the crux of the matter, he said, was subsection 6 of Article 47, which stipulated that “Where the boundaries of a constituency established under this article are altered as a result of a review, the alteration shall come into effect upon the next dissolution of Parliament.” The newly created constituencies, therefore, would only take effect upon the dissolution of the existing parliament, that is, at midnight on January 6, 2013, he explained.