NDC TURN DOWN EC 3PM ELECTION POLL CLOSURE, SAYS 5PM WORKED PERFECTLY SINCE 1992
The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has turned down a suggestion by the Electoral Commission to close polls at 3 pm during elections instead of the previous 5 pm. EC adopted the suggestion during an inter-party advisory committee meeting which the NDC boycotted. At a press conference on Thursday, 20 May 2021, organized by the party, the Director of Elections of the party told the press that the NDC saw the proposal “baffling and mind-boggling”. According to him, “Since the 1992 elections, polls have always closed at 5PM. This has worked perfectly without any challenges whatsoever. It, therefore, beggars’ belief that the EC would want to change this time-tested arrangement and go for a poorly thought-through alternative which is bound to disenfranchise eligible voters and create needless problems for our electoral system”, Mr Elvis Afriye Ankrah pointed. Read the NDC’s full statement below: PRESS STATEMENT THEME: ASSESSING THE SO-CALLED ACHIEVEMENTS AND ELECTORAL REFORM PROPOSALS OF THE JEAN MENSAH-LED ELECTORAL COMMISSION. 20th May 2020 Good afternoon distinguished ladies and gentlemen of the media. You are welcome to the Headquarters of the NDC for this all-important press conference. The NDC has taken notice of several false claims made by the chairperson of the Electoral Commission Mrs Jean Adukwei Mensa in her speech delivered at the just-ended two-day workshop between the EC and the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) at Alisa Hotel in Accra. The purpose of this press conference is to formally respond to and expose the many unfounded claims peddled by the EC Chairperson in her speech at the program and to explain to you the reasons for our boycott of these IPAC engagements. Friends from the media, contrary to the claims by the EC Chairperson that the 2020 general elections was the best ever in the history this country and calls for the nation to celebrate some so-called unprecedented successes chalked by the EC in the conduct of the elections, the facts show that last year’s elections was one of the most poorly conducted, flawed and manipulated elections in the history of this country, a situation that has undermined the strides we have made since the inception of this 4th republican democratic dispensation. And we say this for the following reasons: The dubious handling of the printing and distribution of ballot papers and other electoral materials that led to ballot stuffing by the NPP in their strongholds and other regions. The unprecedented number of rejected ballots recorded in the elections owing largely to the incompetence and recklessness of the EC in using unapproved stamp pads instead of the approved voting ink pad that we have used in previous elections. The use of illegal Statement of Polls/pink sheets (Form 8B) that omitted BVD entries in about 7,581 polling stations, thereby undermining the ballot accounting process and the integrity of the entire results. This totally belies the claim by Jean Mensa that only 11,000 people voted by manual verification in the 2020 general elections. Widespread cases of patent arithmetic errors on the faces of pink sheets and constituency results summary sheets by incompetent EC staff in the filling of electoral forms and aggregation of valid votes. Manipulation of figures by the EC leading to a disparity between constituency collated results aggregate (13,118,640) and regional collated results aggregates (13,119,460). Padding of votes at the constituency collation centers in favor of candidate Akufo-Addo. No proper collation at the national collation center by the Returning Officer for the Presidential elections, Mrs. Jean Adukwei Mensa. Unprecedented cases of state-sponsored violence and killings at constituency collation centers occasioned by the reckless and unlawful conduct of some EC officials and the despotic Akufo-Addo government and in contravention of our time-tested election security arrangement. Also contrary to the claim that the International community has hailed the conduct of the 2020 general elections as Jean Mensah will have us believe, the European Union is on record to have decried the non-transparency of the collation process for the elections. So flawed was the conduct of the 2020 general elections that for the first time in the history of this country, a whole district made up of the Satrokofi, Akpafu, Likpe and Lolobi (SALL) communities were deliberately disenfranchised by the EC for the sole purpose of assisting the New Patriotic Parliamentary Candidate, John Peter Amewu win the Hohoe seat. Is this what Jean Mensa and her bias Commission is inviting us to celebrate? Again, the claim by the EC that an amount of $90 million was saved in the conduct of the 2020 general elections is completely contrived. The facts show that the state incurred avoidable financial losses as a result of the procurement of a facial recognition technology by the EC that turned out as a fiasco. It is therefore ridiculous and laughable to say the least, that an Electoral Management Body that has failed to pay its temporary staff their allowances, five (5) months after an election will make the claim that they have saved the nation money. We wish to entreat the public to treat this baseless claim with the contempt it deserves and wait for a credible audit into the EC’s expenditure for the 2020 general elections. PROPOSED REFORMS BY THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION Ladies and Gentlemen of the media, we have taken note of some proposals for reforms that the Electoral Commission has put forward for the consideration of IPAC. However, the first and most important reform required is for the EC to reform itself. Jean Mensa and Bossman Asare must be the first to reform and change their attitude of arrogance and bias. Ladies and gentlemen of the media, I will now proceed to do a critical and objective analysis of the four (4) reform proposals put forward by the EC. Closure of polls at 3pm in 2024 Ladies and gentlemen of the media, the NDC finds the proposal by the Jean Mensa-led EC to change the closing time of polls from 5PM to 3PM in 2024 baffling and mind-boggling. Since the 1992 elections, polls have always
Gabby ‘fires’ political leader who blocks dissenting followers on social media but condemns others on WPFD
There is a political leader who is quick to block ‘disagreeable’ followers on his social media handles and yet always the first to condemn others on World Press Freedom Day, Gabby Asare Otchere Darko, a leading member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has said. In a tweet to mark the World Press Freedom Day celebration on Monday May 3, the Publisher of the Daily Statesmen said “There is a political leader who is quick to block ‘disagreeable’ followers on his social media handles and yet always the first to condemn others on World Press Freedom Day. Enjoy Social Media Freedom Day 2021!” Meanwhile Former President John Dramani Mahama has charged President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to create an environment that is devoid of intimidation for the media. Mr Mahama said this to mark the occasion of the World Press Freedom Day celebration. In a Facebook post, Mr Mahama said “I want to encourage President Nana Akufo-Addo and his close associates to seize the occasion to create an atmosphere that is more tolerant of criticism and devoid of intimidation in order for the media, CSOs and individuals to freely express themselves and contribute to national discourse. #WorldPressFreedomDay.” 3 May acts as a reminder to governments of the need to respect their commitment to press freedom and is also a day of reflection among media professionals about issues of press freedom and professional ethics. Just as importantly, World Press Freedom Day is a day of support for media which are targets for the restraint, or abolition, of press freedom. It is also a day of remembrance for those journalists who lost their lives in the pursuit of a story. Every year, 3 May is a date which celebrates the fundamental principles of press freedom, to evaluate press freedom around the world, to defend the media from attacks on their independence and to pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the exercise of their profession. World Press Freedom Day was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in 1993 following a Recommendation adopted at the twenty-sixth session of UNESCO’s General Conference in 1991. This in turn was a response to a call by African journalists who in 1991 produced the landmark Windhoek Declaration(link is external) on media pluralism and independence. 3news Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
There’s no culture of silence since the days of Adu Boahen — Adom-Otchere jabs Sam Jonah
Host of the Good Evening Ghana show on Metro TV, Paul Adom-Otchere has rubbished Sir Sam Jonah’s claim that the culture of silence is back under the Akufo-Addo’s government. He said there’s no culture of silence since the days of Adu Boahen. According to him, Ghana has been progressing steadily in a constitutional development and everybody can speak their minds. “Where’s the culture of silence? Culture of silence is a brutal situation; one that you grant an interview in ‘House B’ and ran away to ‘House A’ because as soon as the interview is published, there’s a problem. That’s culture of silence. There’s absolutely no culture of silence. There’s no culture of silence since the days of Adu Boahen. Ghana has been progressing steadily in a constitutional development and everybody can speak,” he said in an editorial on his show on Tuesday, 27 April 2021. In a recent speech to Rotarians in Accra titled ‘Down the up escalator – Reflections on Ghana’s future by a senior citizen’, the executive chairman of Jonah Capital, an equity fund based in Johannesburg, South Africa, said: “In the past, when all had failed, academia was the last vanguard”. “We all remember the role that the Legon Observer played”, he said, adding: “Under the hallowed cloak of academic freedom, men and women of conscience could write and speak words that penetrated the halls of power”. However, he noted: “It appears to me that in recent times in our fourth Republican dispensation, the courage to stand up for the truth and the determination to uphold the common good are lost. In our dark moments as a nation, it is concerning that the voices of the intellectuals are receding into oblivion”. “Sadly, it is a consequence of the deep partisan polarisation of our country such that everything is seen through the lenses of politics”, noting: “It appears to me that the culture of silence has returned. This time, not enforced by legal and military power but through convenience, parochialism, hypocrisy and lack of conviction”. “Where are our Adu Boahens and PAV ANSAHs?” he asked. However, Mr Adom-Otchere said: “The culture of silence, I don’t agree with, there’s no culture of silence”, adding: “There’s a culture of silence but he’s speaking, other people are writing and these days, social media has become very brutal, Twitter is brutal”. “You can’t call that a culture of silence”, he insisted. “With the greatest of respect”, he said: “You cannot call what is happening in Ghana today a culture of silence”. “Who is not able to speak?” he asked, citing as an example: “Even when the president was concerned about a documentary that had been created to indicate that he was in support of some violence, what did the president do? He sued at the National Media Commission where nobody gets punished, nobody goes to prison, nothing happens to anybody; people are just asked to apologise”. He stressed: “The president of the republic, the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, was concerned about a publication, he sued at the National Communication Authority. Is that a culture of silence where he’ll file a writ at the National Media Commission and complain that this journalists has done this story against me, ‘NMC, take a look it’? That is not the atmosphere of culture of silence”. So, Mr Adom-Otchere noted, “I’m not so sure of the culture of silence”. “So, I wasn’t surprised when I saw a headline, I didn’t quite read it, I saw a headline where [former President] Kufuor was asking Sam Jonah about where the culture of silence was”. “There’s absolutely no culture of silence”’, Mr Adom-Otchere emphasised ad nauseum, noting: “He [Sam Jonah] says it is creeping back, he actually says it has returned and here we disagree with him, there’s no culture of silence”. “Go to Twitter and see if there’s a culture of silence. Pick up a newspaper tomorrow and see if there’s a culture of silence. Listen to the radio in the afternoon. These days, they’ve developed these political afternoon shows – all of them start from 2 o’clock – listen to them and see if there’s a culture of silence”, he challenged. He said a culture of silence is nothing to be spoken about lightly. In his view, “if there’s concern about the number of voices speaking for Person A and Person B, you can say that but to say there’s a culture of silence in Ghana is absolutely wrong”. Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
“I’ll rate Wontumi’s performance 6 over 10– FF Antoh
The former Ashanti regional chairman of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) FF Antoh has said the current regional Ashanti chairman Bernard Antwi Bosiako performed above average in the 2020 general election. According to Mr. Antoh, people blaming the current chairman known popularly as Chairman Wontumi for the party’s vote decrease in the region are not being kind. Speaking to Starrfm monitored by Apexnewsgh.com, the former chairman said… “Our performance in the Ashanti Region wasn’t bad but our performance in Asawase was very poor. Muntaka stretched the gap from 5000 to 20,000. That’s what we should look at. I’ll rate Wontumi’s performance 6 over 10. He took the party from 70% to 76% and then brought it down to 72% which is above average,” “The most important thing is how to help Akufo-Addo succeed in his second term and that’s the cardinal point. All of them must be careful unless they’re joking. What happens to the party in 2024 depends on how Akufo-Addo‘s second term will be successful, then you can think of becoming president. “I don’t think it’s fair to the President because he’s even yet to form his government in his second term. I think it’s too early for people to say they want to be president. The Prez hasn’t even constituted his gov’t in his second term so why the rush? I’m not comfortable with it,” he stressed. Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana/Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093
Consider appointing one of the very hardworking party member from Binduri Central–Akufo-Addo told
Citizens of the Binduri district of the Upper East Region led by the governing NPP Philip Ayamba have cautioned the President to be mindful of who to appoint as his representative for the people of Binduri in his second term in office. According to the citizens of Binduri, their contention is that Mr. Ayinga Abagri worked so hard during the first term of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and that endeared the people of the District/ Constituency who expressed their gratitude by voting for the NPP’s Parliamentary Candidate in the December 2020 Election. Weeks after the general election, the party executives hurriedly appealed for the President to retain Mr. Ayinga Abagre Yakubu, District Chief Executive (DCE) for Binduri. A statement signed by Constituency Chairman Ayaago Samuel and sixteen others said the allegiance and unity accorded the constituency by Mr. Abanga Abdulai and Mr. Abagre Yakubu is unparalleled and thus, convinced the two will offer unflinching support to his government both at the top level and at the grassroots. “As far as election 2020 is concerned, the two gentlemen in the Constituency have proven themselves worthy of being part of your government as they were working tirelessly with the grassroots to ensure that we in the NPP snatched the seat from the NDC party and they, Honorable Abanga Abdulai (MP) and Honourable Ayinga Abagre Yakubu, (DCE) were the brains behind this feat,” the executives said in a statement. An assertion the citizens of Binduri described as been far from the truth. Per the 2016 & 2020 election results figures attached on the press statement issued on 2nd March 2021 by Citizen of Binduri, Mr. Abagri lost his polling station to NDC, and to them, that is a clear indication showing that he worked behind the scene to undermine the Party’s campaign in the constituency. Several things can be mentioned to support the position that Mr. Ayinga Abagri worked against the campaign of the Party in the constituency. According to Citizens of Binduri, “the real contributors to the electoral victory of Honorable Abdulai Abanga and NPP in Binduri are, the unity with which Party Elders & Patrons most of whom came from Binduri Central brought to bear on the campaign, key Party individuals who have always played significant roles in the affairs of the NPP in the Binduri Constituency, the resolute Youth from the Binduri Community who after heeding to the advice of some committed patrons of the Party decided to very strongly come out to campaign for both the President and the then PC (Hon. Abdulai Abanga), and the highly commendable role played by various Election &Votes Collation Day’s Party Agents including most especially the IT Co-ordination Team”. However, they have registered their displeasure indicating that, if Mr. Ayinga Abagri is mistakenly retained as the DCE for the district, they the Binduri people will resist such appointment to the fullest. Meanwhile, they extended their appreciation to the President for appointing their illustrious Son Stephen Yakubu as the Upper East Regional Minister. Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana/Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093
Exclusive: MASLOC and MMDCEs contributed hugely to NPP defeat—Agnes Chigabatia
Former Member of Parliament for Builsa North Agnes Asangalisa Chigabatia has revealed, that the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC) and Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs), contributed to the party’s massive defeat in the Upper East Region Upper East Region, is one of the many regions that witnessed what many have described as humiliating defeat in the just ended December 7, elections despite government policies Speaking in an exclusive interview with Apexnewsgh.com, the veteran politician was specific to mention MASLOC as one of the leading causes of the party defeat in the region, women who applied for the loan could not succeed. “MASLOC loans is another thing that made us to lose because women applied and applied and they couldn’t make a headway and there are some of the policies we didn’t implement them well”. She siad Madam Chigabatia, also blamed some of the MMDCEs and their constituency executives in the region for their regrettable and unfortunate attitude towards one another which had ended up affecting the party fortune. According to her, she believes the party is the cooperate entity that should have been protected. “Some MMDCEs and their constituency executives were not talking. So, if DCEs and Constituency executives were not talking, so how do you work together for you to win? And they will be saying after all you are not the people who appointed them, let grow up in politics. So, the total cause was the DCEs, Constituency executives and Parliamentary Candidates”. She stressed However, she thanked President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and his able Vice Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia for the wonderful role they both played to Ghanaians during their last 4 years in office. She further appealed to party members not to start worrying Mr. President with issues appointment at this point. “So now, we should always be thankful to God and the President Akufo Addo and his able Vice Dr. Bawumia. And now, we shouldn’t disturb the President about appointments, what do we do and we want appointments? We should allow the man to relax and know what is good for the next 4 years”. She appealed Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana/Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093.
Courts affirms Adjei Korsah as MP-elect; boots out NDC Techiman South injunction
A Wenchi High Court in the Bono Region presided over by Fred Nawura has dismissed an application for Injunction of the swearing-in of the Member of Parliament(MP)-elect for the Techiman South Constituency. The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has said that it won the Techiman South Parliamentary election but the Electoral Commission and the NPP connived to rid them of the success chalked in the election. The largest opposition has allegedly provided evidence to back its claims that the party’s candidate Christopher Bayere Baasongti won the seat from the NPP. However, the Electoral Commission insists that the NDC never won the seat like they are making some sections of Ghanaians believe. Ahead of the swearing-in of Members of Parliament(MP)-elect, the NDC applied for an injunction on the swearing-in of the NPP Candidate Martin Adjei Mensah Korsah But a Wenchi High Court has dismissed the application that will prevent the process from going on. In his judgement, the trial judge is quoted to have said” I shall refuse the Ex Parte injunction application. I think the people of Techiman South need a representative at the swearing-in. To injunct the 1st respondent will be unfair. At the end of the trial, if it is established that the election was not done properly, I shall make my orders. I hereby refuse the application” My News Gh Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093.
NDC might lose Deputy Speakership position if they don’t cooperate – John Boadu
“The constitution does not even state that it is the majority party that will get speakership. According to the constitution, anybody can be nominated within and outside parliament and it will be put to vote. Emphasizing on the NPP’s approach of the process with a united front, the party’s Chief Scribe affirmed that “there is no way that we are going to lose the Speakership; we will win the First Speaker, the first deputy speaker. And per what the constitution dictates, we cannot have one party having all the three speakership position. So by that, the third one can go.” “But even with that, if they do not cooperate, we may have a situation where the only independent candidate becomes the Second Deputy Speaker,” he said on Monday. “So I think it is in the interest of all of us to cooperate and not to put on a needless contest in order for us to all come together and work together for the cohesion that we need.” Already, the NPP National Council has nominated Prof Aaron Mike Ocquaye to serve another term as the Speaker in the eighth Parliament of Ghana. The party has, however made changes to some of its leadership on Parliament, although it is maintaining Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu as the Majority Leader, MP-elect for Effutu, Alex Afenyo Markin will serve as the Deputy. NPP is also making MP-elect for Nsawam-Adoagyiri, Frank Annoh-Dompreh as its Chief Whip while the MP-elect for Ayawaso West Wuogon and MP for Tolon Constituency serve as his deputies. Myjoyonline Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093.
NPP’s National Council holds crunch meeting to decide leadership of Parliament
The National Council of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) is meeting to approve or disapprove proposals made by the party’s Steering Committee for leadership positions in Parliament. The Steering Committee on Thursday, December 31, 2020, proposed that Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu be retained as Majority Leader of Parliament, whilst Alexander Afenyo Markin be made the Deputy Majority Leader. The Chief Whip slot which is currently held by Kwasi Ameyaw-Cheremeh, the Sunyani East MP has been earmarked for Frank Annoh Dompreh, the Nsawam-Adoagyiri MP. Mr. Dompreh’s deputies will be the Tolon MP, Habib Iddrisu, and the Mfantsiman MP, Ophelia Hayford after Matthew Nyindam, the Kpandai MP, and Moses Anim, the Trobu MP held those positions in the current Parliament. The meeting which has the President, the Vice President and Chief of Staff in attendance will also approve the nomination of either Freddie Blay or Professor Michael Oquaye as Speaker of the House. Unlike in 2016 where the NPP secured a record majority with 169 seats in Parliament, the governing party’s representation dropped to 137 seats in Parliament. The NDC matched the NPP by also winning 137 seats in Parliament, the highest ever proportion of seats held by an opposition party in Ghana’s Fourth Republic. The two parties were joined by an independent candidate, Andrew Amoako Asiamah, who won the Fomena seat. Mr. Asiamah has said he will join the NPP to form a Majority in Parliament despite being kicked out of the Party because he decided to run as an independent candidate. Citinewsroom Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093.
Akufo-Addo to take oath in parliamentary tent
President-elect Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo will next Thursday, January 7, 2020 be sworn-in as President for a second term in a parliamentary tent created at the Parliament House, in Accra. He will, however, deliver the State of the Nation Address, in the chamber of parliament, in Osu-Accra, tomorrow, Tuesday, January 5, 2021. Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, the Majority Leader in Parliament, announced the venues on Monday, in Accra, when House returned for the Christmas and New Year holidays, to complete the last three days of the Seventh Parliament of the Fourth Republic. He said the election of the new Speaker of Parliament would take place in the chamber, but the swearing-in of the new parliament, the Eighth Parliament of the Fourth Republic would take place in the tent. The announcement was in response to Members’ questions on the exact venues within the precincts of House, for the President and President Elect’s constitutional roles in relation to the delivery of the State of the Nation’s Address (SONA) and his inauguration. The Seventh Parliament, which began on January 7, 2017, would dissolve on the night of January 6, 20202, and usher in the Eighth Parliament of the Fourth Republic, on the eve of January 7, 2021. Mr Kyei- Mensah-Bonsu, announced in the Business Statement that “H E the President of the Republic is expected to deliver a Message on the State of the Nation prior to the dissolution of the Seventh Parliament, on Tuesday, 5th January 2021, in accordance with Article 67 of the Constitution.” He entreated members to attend upon the House punctually for the event. A visit of the Ghana News Agency (GNA) to the car park of the Parliament House, where a large conference tent has been erected for the ceremony, shows that finishing touches were being done to the place for the ceremony. The hitherto open space has been tarred with goudron, and the avenue trees to the venue have been re-painted fresh from the base to the stem in the Ghana national colours of red, yellow and green. The street has also seen much improvement. The dwarf poles holding the street lights the venue, which were in disrepair and had looked abandoned, were being worked on, with numerous barricades under the giant mahogany trees that line the streets. The inauguration ceremony at the Parliament House follows a decision to move the inauguration from the Black Star Square after an appeal by Parliament last November to have subsequent swearing-in of presidents in the precincts of parliament. The GNA observed a heightened security presence in the precincts. Meanwhile, Minority Chief Whip Alhaji Mubarak Muntaka, in contribution to the Business Statement, has prayed the Leadership of the House not to engage members in any tall business before dissolution to allow for ample time for the business of the Committee on Emoluments. GNA Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093.