According to the aspirants, they have lost several thousands of Ghana cedis due to the EC’s “stubbornness” over the implementation of Constitutional Instrument (CI) 85 which hinges on the proper demarcation of electoral areas.
On Thursday February 27, the Supreme Court ruled that the District Assembly elections slated for March 3, was illegal and ordered the EC to scrap the entire electoral process because the (CI) 85, had not matured to pave way for the opening of nominations.
This followed a suit filed by a fishermen in the Central Region after he had been denied participation in the process.
The court’s directive has angered many aspirants hence their threat to take on the Electoral Commission to get compensation for the losses they incurred.
Speaking to TV3, an aspirant and a Presiding Member of the La Dadekotopong Municipal aAssembly, Nii Amoah Nai said “we are taking a class action against the EC because in my view they haven’t learnt anything from the 8 months election petition at the Supreme Court.
“I believe the EC could have been able to put up better strategies to take Ghana out of this turmoil. So we are going to take a class action against the EC for the financial loss they have made aspirants incur.”
The Electoral Commission has however noted that it would put before Parliament a new legislation for approval before a new date would be announced for the elections.
Some local governance experts are predicting that there is the likelihood of a vacuum being created at the district level following the ruling.
The current assembly members are expected to exit office by March 14 after which new members are supposed to be sworn in, but in the face of the current development this may not be possible.
The aggrieved aspirant says “I have lost more than GHC 10,000 for the entire process of campaigning and that is money that has gone down the drain. I know many other aspirants who have also spent huge sums of money and the EC must be made to pay for it.
“I have already started talking to some legal experts about this and we would be going to court in the next few days. We are seeking to get compensation for the panic, anxiety and the financial loss that the EC irresponsibility has caused us.”
By Martin Asiedu-Dartey|3news.com|Ghana
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