Competence must inform choices; Urges Assembly member aspirant
An aspiring assembly member for the Kawanopaado Electoral Area in Cape Coast in the Central Region, Mr Bernard Otoo, has urged the electorate to let capabilities and competence inform their choice of candidates rather than ethnic, religious and political considerations.
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He said such voting patterns during local government elections continued to derail the process of development in many communities and, so it was time the electorate voted for those who could do the work.
"It is disturbing when the electorate throw their weight behind people because of where they belong and not what they are capable of doing.
“People have been given the chance to represent the majority both at the district assembly and in Parliament but we are still where we are in terms of development because they lack the skills to lobby, the enthusiasm to mobilise people, particularly the youth, and above all the qualities to lead," he noted.
Mr Otoo, who was interacting with the Daily Graphic on the forthcoming district-assembly elections, also called on the Electoral Commission ( EC) to put its house in order to avoid any hitches during the elections.
He said the local governance process had been the foundation of the country's decentralisation system and so there was the need for all stakeholders to contribute their bit to grow the system to make it more attractive to the people.
Grass-roots elections
Touching on the elections in the Kawanopaado Electoral Area, Mr Otoo, popularly known as Paa Kofi, further called on the people to reject his opponent, Baba Haruna, who, he said, had failed to champion the cause of the area at the assembly after winning two elections.
"Kawanopaado deserves more than just rhetorics. We need proactive and action-oriented leaders to champion our cause and that is what I stand for. It is the basis for my decision to contest the incumbent so that we can work for a holistic development," Mr Otoo stated.
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He appealed to the electorate to come out in their numbers on September 1, 2015, the day set for the elections, to give him the nod to represent them at the assembly.
Background
The district-level elections were slated for May this year but had to be rescheduled after a fisherman from Winneba dragged the EC to court for not following due process.
This was as a result of the EC's failure to await the maturity of a Legislative Instrument ( LI) in Parliament before opening nominations.
The fisherman, who could not file his nomination within the period, proceeded to the Supreme Court to challenge the constitutionality of the action of the EC and subsequently won.
The elections have been rescheduled for September 1, 2015.