‘Baseless, unfounded’: EC replies Sammy Gyamfi on Assin North by-election claims

The Electoral Commission has asked Ghanaians to ignore the ‘baseless and unfounded’ allegations of Sammy Gyamfi, the National Communication Officer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) concerning the upcoming Assin North by-election.

In another statement, the Electoral Commission said the qualification criteria for parliamentary candidates are outlined in Article 94 of the 1992 Constitution which states that a person must be a registered voter, at least 21 years of age, and either hail from or reside in the constituency for a total of five years within the last ten years preceding the election.

The press release was in response to claims made by the National Communications Officer of NDC, Sammy Gyamfi that EC just relies only on the 1992 constitution to determine who qualifies to be a parliamentary candidate.

But the Commission dismissed Mr. Gyamfi’s claim that the EC should also consider the provisions of CI 127, particularly the Nomination Form, in determining the eligibility of a parliamentary candidate.

“The fact still remains that the allegation by Sammy Gyamfi to the effect that the EC is working with the NPP to sneak an unregistered voter into the Assin North register is false. It is untrue, and we call on Sammy Gyamfi to prove this.

“Over the years Sammy Gyamfi and his party have put out false claims aimed at maligning the integrity of the EC. This was evident in their petition to the Supreme Court after the 2020 Elections alleging that they had won the Elections. It is well known that they could not provide evidence in Court to support their allegations. This current allegation is no different. It is baseless and unfounded and a figment of the Imagination of the National Communications Officer. We call on all well-meaning Ghanaians to ignore it.

“Ghana’s democracy has come of age and we call on Sammy Gyamfi to exercise maturity, decorum, and truth in his discussions on the EC. We urge him to go out and campaign and leave the EC alone. As a Commission, we remain committed to conducting transparent, peaceful and credible elections. We will devote our time to fulfilling our constitutional mandate, having provided the public with the truth on this matter.”