The New Juaben South municipal assembly in the Eastern region failed to elect a presiding Member (PM) after two rounds of voting.
Rapture Botwe, the incumbent Presiding Member seeking reelection polled 28 votes against his contender Nana Yaw Debrah who had 22 votes during the first round of voting.
In the second round of voting held the same day, the votes of Rapture Botwe surprisingly reduced to 25 while his contenders increased to 25.
However, none of the two PM aspirants managed to meet the constitutional requirement hence voting was postponed to April 10, 2022.
Article 244 (1) of the 1992 Constitution states that “The District Assembly shall have a Presiding Member who shall be elected by the assembly from among its members.”
Article 244 (2) of the Constitution further directs that “The Presiding Member shall be elected by at least two-thirds majority of all the members of the Assembly.”
The election of the Presiding Member for New Juaben South was marred by confusion.
A few minutes before the election, a government appointee Hon. Wahab was handed a dismissal letter over suspicion that he was against the reelection bid of the incumbent Presiding Member Rapture Botwe.
The move was resisted by almost half creating confusion and temporal suspension of the electoral process. He was eventually axed and denied the voting right.
Assembly members in the New Juaben South Municipality are divided over the reelection of the Rapture Botwe for a second term over what some describe as gross incompetence and poor leadership.
However, Rapture Botwe is heavily supported by the Municipal Chief Executive, Isaak Appaw Gyasi, and the Member of Parliament Michael Okyere Baafi.
A presiding Member presides over meetings of the Assembly and performs such other functions as may be prescribed by law.
Source: Mybrytnewsroom.com/Obed Ansah
