Gov't grants EC GH¢693m for elections
The Minister of Employment and Labour, Mr Haruna Iddrisu, has said the Electoral Commission (EC) has all the financial resources it requires to conduct credible elections in November this year.
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Speaking in his capacity as a member of the government’s Economic Management Team (EMT) at a forum to discuss the Constitutional (Amendment) Bill yesterday, he said the EC had been granted GH¢693 million out of the GH¢822 million it needed for the conduct of the presidential and parliamentary elections.
He said due to the position he held, he was privy to that information and added that if the EC requested for more money, the government would willingly provide it.
Mr Iddrisu was reacting to questions posed by some political parties and civil society organisations as to whether the EC had the financial resources to conduct the elections in November, a month earlier than the usual date of December.
"If or when they make additional requests, the government will support them," he said.
Consultations on new date held with EC
Contributing to the discussions at the forum, the Attorney -General and Minister of Justice, Mrs Marietta Brew Appiah-Opong, said before the Constitutional (Amendment) Bill, 2016 was taken to the Cabinet for approval, extensive discussions had been held with the EC on the change of date for the elections.
She said the EC was, therefore, aware of the new date proposed and had nothing against it.
According to her, if the House passed the bill, the government would offer all the support the EC needed for it to conduct the elections on the first Monday in November.
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Mrs Appiah-Opong reminded the gathering that what Parliament sought to amend was not an entrenched clause or provision.
What needed to be done, she said, was to solicit the views of the Council of State, which had been done, and to gazette the bill.
Meeting with EC
The Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, under whose auspices the forum was held, Mr Joseph Amoatey, said a meeting would be held with the EC on Wednesday and all the concerns raised would be discussed.