District assembly elections postponed indefinitely

The Chairman of the Electoral Commission (EC), Dr Kwodjo Afari-Gyan,has asked the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament to ensure a timely release of funds to enable the commission to carry out the district level elections.

Mr Afari-Gyan said lack of money for district level elections meant the exercise, which is eight months away, would be postponed indefinitely.

Audited account

This was after the committee threatened to withhold budgetary allocation to the EC for this year due to its (EC’s) failure to submit audited accounts for 2012.

Speaking on Joy Fm News, Dr Afari-Gyan said there were many important activities to be undertaken by the commission which included the district level elections, and added that the decision would affect the success of the elections.

He said the date for the election had already been shifted from October this year to a later, date but it would be impossible to carry out as planned because of the delay of funds.

"Even though we had intended to conduct the elections in October, now it will be impossible; it indicates the importance of timely release of funds," Dr Gyan pointed out.

Consequences

He explained that issues like that had happened many times in the past due to the enormity of the work but the commission was prepared to take up the consequences that came with the decision. 

According to the 1994 District Assembly Elections Act 473, "elections to a district assembly shall be held every four years, except that the elections shall be held at least six months away from parliamentary elections".

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But in the wake of funding constraints, Afari-Gyan said he was not sure when the election would be organised in the 216 metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies.

Lament

This lament over the delay of funds is not new. It is an incessant chorus by the commission about feet-dragging by governments in the release of funds. The district assembly election is a non-partisan, grassroot decision-making process to choose representatives and unit committee members.

But voter turnouts in these elections have been progressively low and plagued with organisational challenges.

 In the last district assembly elections organised in 2010, the Electoral Commission rescheduled elections in eight out of 10 regions in the country.

The parliamentary committee disclosed that last year, a new phrase emerged that district level election was conducted “tot by tot”.

In response, the EC chairman said the commission had no intention of repeating that method, and assured the committee that if the commission received a timely release of  funds, it would follow the right procedures.