Residents of the Guan area in the Oti Region have expressed concerns about the short timeframe provided for them to obtain nomination forms for the upcoming District Assembly election.
They argue that the short interval between the nomination announcement and the deadline is insufficient for adequate preparation.
On November 8, 2023, the Electoral Commission (EC) announced the opening of nominations for the District Assembly elections scheduled for December 19, 2023.
However, Guan district was initially excluded from the nomination process as the constituency had not yet been formally established. The EC had promised to notify the residents of Guan regarding the nomination date for their district.
On December 4, 2023, the EC finally opened nominations for the Guan Constituency with a deadline of December 8, 2023. This short notice has caused significant concern among residents and potential candidates.
Fred Agbenyo, a parliamentary aspirant of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Guan Constituency, expressed his concerns on Citi News, urging the EC to reconsider the deadline: “You know this is a farming season and this is a farming area. Everybody wakes up to go to the farm in the morning so until somebody tells them that they’ve opened the nomination, they are unaware. If they don’t hear it on the radio, they are not aware. It is becoming a major concern for a lot of people in the area. So we are pleading with the EC that if they would not mind, they should extend the date for the election to at least the 28th of this month, so the people can prepare adequately.”
He further emphasized the need for the EC to actively inform the public about the newly created constituency.
“We are also appealing to the Electoral Commission, since the C. I 119 that was laid out matured, they should put up a public notice that the Guan constituency has been created to allay the fear and all the things the people are going through.”
