EC readies for Kumawu by-election

The Electoral Commission (EC) has assured all stakeholders in the upcoming Kumawu by-election in the Ashanti Region that the electoral management body is adequately prepared to conduct the elections as mandated.

In an interview with the Ashanti Regional Director of the EC, Benjamin Bano- Bioh last Wednesday (May 17), he stressed that the EC had made available all the materials needed for the election, with the exception of some ballot papers which were currently being printed and should be ready by today (Friday, May 19, 2023).

Training of trainees
Mr Bano-Bioh said for the past two days, the EC had engaged some returning officers in a workshop to prepare them ahead of the election.

He said beneficiaries of the two-day training programme would also train some key players including Presiding Officers, Name Reference List Officers and Ballot Issuers.

“We are well resourced and prepared for this election. Everything is in order,” he said, adding that the EC was poised to conducting a free and fair election, in ensuring that the wish of the people was realised,” he said.

According to Mr Bano-Bioh, all that political parties and candidates needed to do was to ensure that their representatives at both the voting and the collation centres were knowledgeable enough to appreciate proceedings and the outcome of the election.

Security
“As for the police we are always in touch with them. We have sent them the list of all 75 polling stations and their locations. We have also indicated areas that we think are hotspots,” Bano-Bioh stated.

Notice of Polls
Meanwhile the Notice of Poll published by the Electoral Commission ahead of the May 23 exercise indicated that there were four candidates who were contesting the by-election.

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) candidate, Ernest Yaw Anim, is the number one on the ballot paper; the National Democratic Congress candidate, Kwasi Amankwa, takes the second spot while the third and fourth positions are for two independent candidates who bear the same name.

Recall
Parliament, before adjourning sine die for the Easter holidays, notified the EC of the need to conduct a by-election in the Kumawu Constituency following the death of Philip Basoah, the NPP MP for the area.

Mr Basoah, 53, was a Member of the Seventh and Eighth Parliaments of the Fourth Republic.