Cape Coast Metropolitan Assembly (CCMA) in the Central Region on Thursday, March 23, 2017 for the fifth consecutive time failed to elect a new Presiding Member (PM) after three rounds of voting which was supervised by officials of the Electoral Commission (EC).
None of the two leading contestants—Hon. Lawrence Ampah and Hon. Joel Eshun—was able to secure two-thirds of the total number of ballots required by law when the election was held in February this year.
That, according to sources at the assembly, necessitated Hon. Joel Eshun to step down to allow Hon. Lawrence Ampah to go unopposed.
However, the latter also failed to secure the required votes to enable him become the PM for the fifth time.
The assembly’s inability to elect a PM, according to the Coordinating Director of the Assembly, Mr. Gilbert Nuri-Teg, would hamper development in the area.
Speaking to the media, he expressed worry about the development, and appealed to the assembly to do all it could to elect a PM next time since time was not on their side.
The CCMA has been without a Presiding Member for some time now after Hon. Atta Mensah’s tenure came to an end few months ago.
And the assembly since last year September had failed to elect a PM to spearhead its affairs for accelerated development.
Per the Local Government Act – 1993 (ACT 462) Section – 17, “there shall be a Presiding Member for each District Assembly who shall be elected by the Assembly from among its members.
The PM shall neither be the District Chief Executive nor a Member of Parliament.
The Presiding Member shall be elected by at least two-thirds majority of all the members of the assembly.”
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