Private legal practitioner Tsatsu Tsikata has called for reparations for residents of Santrokofi, Akpafu, Likpe, and Lolobi (SALL), arguing that they were unjustly denied parliamentary representation during Ghana’s 8th Parliament.
The situation, he said, arose after the creation of the Oti Region under Constitutional Instrument 112, which left the SALL communities without a Member of Parliament following the 2020 general elections.
Speaking at an honorific lecture and awards ceremony at the University of Professional Studies, Accra, on Wednesday, April 15, 2026, Mr Tsikata said subsequent administrative changes, including the creation of the Guan Constituency ahead of the 2024 elections, do not sufficiently address the harm caused.
“It cannot be said that the subsequent creation of a Guan district and a Guan constituency are sufficient to remedy the injustice to the people of SALL,” he said. “For one thing, the mere denomination of a district and a constituency does not provide the development resources that are the legitimate aspiration of the people.”
He argued that residents were deprived not only of parliamentary representation but also of development opportunities linked to having a legislator.
“For the period they lacked representation in parliament and their share of the resources that could have been available through a member of parliament, I dare say they are owed reparation,” Mr Tsikata said.
He further described the situation as a “historic injustice” stemming from decisions by the Electoral Commission of Ghana, which he said prevented eligible voters in the area from participating in the 2020 parliamentary election.
“Please remember that the EC itself has admitted that it would have been illegal to have asked the voters in those areas to vote in the Buem constituency in December 2020,” he said. “Yet, that is what the constitutional instrument which the EC has claimed in its defense to the election petition to be the applicable instrument.”
The issue, he noted, remains subject to judicial resolution, as affected residents continue to seek redress over their exclusion from the electoral process.
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