Full script: NDC MPs petition to EC over “flawed” elections

December 23, 2020 by with 0 comment

PETITION BY THE NDC CAUCUS IN PARLIAMENT DIRECTED AT THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION TO CAUSE TO BE PROPERLY COLLATED THE 2020 TECHIMAN SOUTH CONSTITUENCY ELECTION RESULTS WITHOUT PREJUDICE TO FURTHER INTENDED ACTIONS ON THE PRESIDENTIAL AND OTHER DISPUTED CONSTITUENCY RESULTS

Petition as follows;

  1. That the NDC Caucus of the current Parliament is fully aligned with the contention of our Flagbearer, H.E. John Dramani Mahama and the National Executive Committee of the NDC that the results of the Presidential Elections stand rejected and therefore we await further instruction from the party’s leadership in that regard.
  1. That we have received and studied a petition from our Parliamentary Candidate and winner of the Techiman South Parliamentary Election, Christopher Beyere Baasongti on the happenings in Techiman South
  1. That in the Presidential and Parliamentary elections conducted nationally on the 7th of December 2020, the Returning Officer for Techiman South Constituency in the Bono East Region could not collate the results for both the Presidential and the Parliamentary candidates after the Polling Stations results had been counted and all Ballot Boxes sent to the Collation Centre in accordance with C.I. 127.
  2. That the Returning Officer delayed the collation exercise with the explanation that there were problems with the results of two polling stations out of the two hundred and sixty-six polling stations in the constituency.
  • That long after mid-night, the Agents for the NPP candidate also raised issues with three other polling station results before collation could commence.
  • That the Returning Officer later announced a change of collation centre from the Community centre to the Ahenfie Hall in Techiman.
  • That at the said collation centre, the Parliamentary Candidates, their representatives and Agents agreed with the Returning Officer to resolve the outstanding issues relating to the five polling stations that were raised by the Returning Officer and the Agents of the NPP candidate.
  • That during the discussion, there emerged serious differences between the Agents as to how to resolve the outstanding issues.
  • That the Regional Director of Elections together with his Deputy advised the way forward in resolving the controversy. While the Agents were doing all they could, to resolve the issues, armed security officers in Police and Military uniform stormed the centre, drove off the Agents for the NDC candidate from the collation room and in the process brutalised one of them, leaving only the election officers and the NPP Agents in the room.
  • That the sight of the NDC agent, bleeding and moving in their direction, raised tension among the voters who were waiting outside to hear the results of the collation.
  • That in an attempt to ascertain what had happened to the agent, the aforesaid uniformed men opened fire indiscriminately, killing two persons on the spot, and injuring nine others, one of whom died a day after on admission.
  • That due to the state of insecurity at the centre, as a result of the shooting incident, the NDC Candidate and Agents had to advise the voters to leave the centre before taking cover themselves. No collation could have taken place that day in such circumstances and neither the NDC Candidate nor any of his Agents were informed or invited for the purpose of collating the Presidential and Parliamentary elections results at a later date.
  • That to all intents and purposes, no collation could have taken place and no collation took place in accordance with the provisions of C.I. 127.
  • That your announcement of the Presidential results of the elections on the 9th of December, 2020, as the Returning Officer, admitted this truism with the exclusion of the Presidential results of the Techiman South Constituency from the total tally.
  • That we are reliably informed by the NDC Parliamentary Candidate that, no collation of the results from the various polling stations has taken place since the elections ended at the close of polls on the 7th of December, 2020; yet a declaration purported to have been made by the Electoral Commission in favour of the NPP Candidate is now public information.
  • That this omission amounts to a blatant breach of the provisions of C.I. 127 governing the conduct of the 2020 general elections.
  • That pursuant to Regulations 2, 3 and 43 of the Public Elections Regulations, 2020, C.l. 127, it is mandatory that all results from all polling stations in the constituency at the end of the polls, are collated at the Constituency Collation Centre before declaration of same.
  • That the Returning Officer is required by law to use FORM ONE C per C.I. 127, to collate the results of the Parliamentary Election from the various polling stations and capture the results in the Parliamentary Election Results Summary Sheet, FORM ONE D of the Schedule.
  • That the Returning Officer is further required by Regulation 43(l)(f) to furnish each candidate or representative or counting agent of the candidate, a completed and signed copy of the Parliamentary Election Results Summary Sheets as set out in FORM ONE D of the schedule.
  • That as at the time of this petition, no such copy of the Parliamentary or Presidential Results Sheets has been furnished the NDC Candidates, or their representatives or counting agents.

DEMAND

  • That by this petition, we demand that you cause to be collated the Techiman South Constituency Parliamentary and Presidential Elections Results from all the Two Hundred and Sixty-Six (266) Polling stations in accordance with the law, with immediate effect.
  • That pursuant to regulation 43 (2) of C.I. 127, the endorsed writ, gazette notification and notice to Clerk of Parliament be amended accordingly to reflect the true state of affairs.

CONCLUSION

  • That this petition is without prejudice to further action we are determined to carry out in respect of the multiple Presidential Declarations and other constituencies in dispute.

Dated, this day, the 22nd of December, 2020.

CC:

  1. The Clerk to Parliament

Parliament House,

Accra.

  1. The Chairman,

National Peace Council

  1. The Chairman

Christian Council of Ghana

  1. The Chief Imam

Office of the National Chief Imam

  1. All Political Parties
  1. Civil Society Organizations
  1. International Observer Missions
  1. Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO)
  1. All Media Houses

AfDB approves $7m to fund mini-grid investment in Africa

December 19, 2020 by with 0 comment

The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank have approved a US$7 million grant from the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA), for technical assistance in setting up a mini-grid acceleration initiative to meet the needs of the continent’s fast-evolving renewable mini-grid industry.

The Africa Mini-Grid Market Acceleration Programme (AMAP), which aims to boost energy access in remote regions and enhance climate resilience throughout Africa, will include three core components: the implementation of a new and standardised framework for national-scale Mini-Grid Acceleration Programmes (MAPs) in four countries; the design and enhancement of financial de-risking solutions; and support for knowledge, innovation, and skills development activities, including the continuation of the Bank’s Green Mini-Grid Help Desk website.

“Mini-grids are an integral and increasingly important feature of the energy access solution, not just in terms of providing lights to households, but also in ensuring that underserved populations have access to productive uses of energy to power inclusive and green economic growth. AMAP underscores the African Development Bank’s commitment to strengthening Africa’s mini-grids industry, which we see as a key driver for accelerated energy access, climate resilience, and a green post COVID-19 recovery,” said Dr. Kevin Kariuki, the Bank’s Vice President for Power, Energy, Climate and Green Growth.

By leveraging the Bank’s established leadership and years of experience in building the African mini-grid industry, AMAP’s overarching aim is to transform the scale of public and private investments in renewable energy mini-grids throughout Africa, including such initiatives as the Green Mini-Grid Market Development Programme, the Nigeria National Electrification Project, and the DRC Green Mini-Grid Programme.

AMAP’s initial phase in four countries is expected to lead to 880,000 new electricity access connections providing modern energy access to over 4 million people, over 80 MW of renewable energy-based generation; the creation of 7,200 full-time jobs, of which 1,800 are anticipated to be held by women, reductions of over 6.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2eq) in lifetime greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and the facilitation of an estimated US$650 million of public and private investments in mini-grids.

AMAP is strongly aligned to the ambitions of the Bank’s New Deal on Energy for Africa as well as the Global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Aaron Leopold, CEO of the Africa Minigrid Developers Association, said, “Mini-grids are a fundamental but under-supported element of Africa’s energy future. To achieve SDG 7 (target on energy), the sector must be radically scaled up, and to do this, a holistic and broad-spectrum support programme informed by industry needs is required to bring governments, investors, and of course the mini-grid sector the kind of support that can facilitate fast and efficient progress. For these reasons, AMDA is excited to see AfDB working to bring mini-grid investments in Africa to the next level.”