No constituency left without representation in Parliament — Afenyo Markin

Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, Parliament’s Majority Leader, stated on Friday that no constituency has been left without representation in Parliament.

Mr Afenyo-Markin made the remark while responding to Dr Cassiel Ato Baah Forson, the Minority Leader, in his welcome address to the House.

During his welcome address on the Floor of the House, Dr Forson expressed disappointment with the alleged delay in electing a representative for the residents of the Santrokofi, Akpofu, Li kpe, and Lolobi (SALL) Constituency.

However, Mr Afenyo-Markin, a New Patriotic Party Member of Parliament for Effutu, disagreed that no Constituency had been excluded from the 2020 elections.

As a result, he urged Dr Forson to avoid misleading Ghanaians and instead ensured that his facts were correct.

“Mr Speaker, the issue of the creation of a constituency for representation is a matter for the EC. And in this 8th parliament, no constituency has been denied representation. At the time of the 2020 election, Mr Speaker no such constituency was left out in the 2020 election.

“So Mr Speaker, the minority leader should not mislead the people of Ghana. When he is raising issues of constitution, he should be well grounded and ensure that the right thing is done,” he said.

Ghana’s 2020 general elections were marred by controversy, particularly over the alleged disenfranchisement of the SALL Constituency.

Critics, including Mr Franklin Cudjoe, President of IMANI Africa, have accused the Electoral Commission (EC) of gross incompetence in handling the situation.

Mr Cudjoe claimed that the EC’s actions resulted in the SALL Constituency’s disenfranchisement.

Meanwhile, the EC had denied the claims. The Commission stated that “the inability of SALL voters to participate in the Parliamentary elections on December 7, 2020, was not a deliberate act of disenfranchisement.”

“The EC further clarified that it was unable to establish the Guan constituency, which would have included SALL, due to late requests and the fact that parliament was in recess at the time,” a statement fro the EC has said.

GNA