EC announces nomination for Kumawu Constituency by-election with GH¢10,000 filing fee per candidate
Nominations for the by-election at Kumawu Constituency in the Ashanti Region have opened, with a filing fee of GH¢10,000 per candidate. The Electoral Commission (EC) has stated that nominations will be accepted from May 2 to 5 in order to hold the election on Tuesday, May 23, 2023, to replace the late Member of Parliament, Philip Basoah.
Interested candidates can download the nomination forms from the Commission’s website from April 14, 2023, to May 5, 2023. Candidates will be required to provide two copies of a recent postcard photograph against a red background at the time of submitting their nomination forms, along with the consent to the nomination. Each nomination form must be witnessed by the signature or mark of two registered voters and supported by 18 additional registered voters in the constituency as assenting to the nominations.
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has cleared six out of eight party members who picked up nomination forms to contest the party’s primary on April 23, 2023. The six are Yaw Baah, a former MP who held the seat from 2002 to 2012; Kwame Appiah-Kubi, the NPP Kumawu Constituency’s First Vice Chairman; Dr. Aboagye Dacosta; Nana Ama Serwaa; Ernest Yaw Anim; and Osei Hweree Kwame Bempah of the NPP Communication Team. The party has put Edward Kofi Osei and Dr. Philip Bannor’s nominations on hold following vetting on Sunday, April 16, 2023, and urged them to present the Vetting Committee with supporting documentation evidence to corroborate the statements made before the committee. They have until Wednesday, April 19, 2023, to do so for the party to formally reveal the final list of contenders qualified to compete in the primaries.
In accordance with Article 112 (5) of the Constitution, as amended, the electoral management body will hold the by-election in the constituency, and interested candidates are encouraged to participate. The nomination process is an important step towards democracy, as it provides opportunities for individuals to take up public offices and contribute their quota to national development.