The Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana has released a press statement addressing the eligibility of the NDC parliamentary aspirant in the recent Kumawu by-election. The statement comes in response to misleading claims made by the National Communication Officer of the NDC.

The EC reiterates that according to Article 94 of the 1992 Constitution, a person can qualify as a candidate for a parliamentary election if they are a Registered Voter, at least 21 years of age, and hail from or have resided in the constituency for a total of five years within the last ten years preceding the election. The Constitution serves as the fundamental law of Ghana and provides the basis for candidate eligibility.

In light of this clarification, it has been revealed that the NDC Candidate for the recent Kumawu by-election, Mr. Kwasi Amankwaa, is not a registered voter in the Kumawu Constituency. He is registered in the Ayawaso West Wuogon Constituency in the Greater Accra Region. Despite this, he contested in the Kumawu by-election based on his residency in the constituency. The EC questions why the NDC did not raise this issue prior to the by-election.

The NDC's National Communication Officer argued that the EC should have also considered CI 127, specifically the Nomination Form, which implies that a candidate must be a registered voter in the constituency they intend to contest. However, the EC refutes this claim, stating that the Nomination Form only requires the nominators to be registered voters in the constituency, not the candidate.

The candidate is only required to hail from or reside in the constituency to qualify for the contest. Interpreting the Nomination Form to imply that the candidate must be a registered voter in the same constituency would be illogical and unconstitutional.

The EC emphatically denies the allegation made by the NDC's Sammy Gyamfi that they are working with the NPP to include an unregistered voter in the Assin North register. The EC labels this allegation as false and calls on Sammy Gyamfi to provide evidence to support his claim.

The EC further emphasizes that over the years, Sammy Gyamfi and the NDC have made baseless claims to tarnish the integrity of the EC. They failed to provide evidence in their petition to the Supreme Court after the 2020 Elections. The EC urges well-meaning Ghanaians to ignore these baseless allegations and calls on Sammy Gyamfi to conduct himself with maturity and truthfulness in discussions concerning the EC. The EC's primary focus is on conducting transparent, peaceful, and credible elections, and they remain committed to fulfilling their constitutional mandate.