Parliament on Thursday rejected the Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2016 seeking to change the month of voting from December 7 to November 7.
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According to him, many of the majority members of Parliament have failed to build consensus around the issue ever since the process to change the election date began on the floor of the House.
READ ALSO:Election 2016
The bill could not get the backing of 184 Members of Parliament.
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125 MPs voted for the bill while 97 voted against it.
The Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Marietta Brew Appiah-Oppong, before the secret vote made a passionate appeal to the House to pass the bill.
She said: “One of the main advantages is that, holding [the] election in November will allow for sufficient time between an election and the handing over of power to an incoming government. This [is] important to ensure adequate preparation and a smooth transition and eliminate situations where former Ministers of State are recalled to provide information to an incoming government on matters of state.”
But the Minority Spokesperson on Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Joe Osei Owusu, in his submission doubted the readiness of the Electoral Commission.
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According to him, changing the date from December to November could create a tight calendar for the EC.
Many have suggested that the Minority’s decision not to accept the new election date is deliberate.
But Evans Aggrey Darko has told Radio Ghana that: “I don’t think that they decided as it were where power lies. But I think that they thought the processes have been such that the EC is actually working under serious pressure. And they think that going back to December 7 will give them much more leverage to be able to go through the processes effectively.”
