We are not creating 25 new constituencies – EC denies reports

The Electoral Commission of Ghana has denied that it intends to create twenty-five (25) new constituencies ahead of the 2024 general elections.

According to the Deputy Commissioner of the EC in charge of Corporate Services, Dr. Eric Bossman Asare, the EC intends to create only the Guan Constituency.

He clarified that the EC had laid a C.I. in parliament to create only one constituency, the Guan Constituency for the people of the Santrokofi, Akpafu, Lipke and Lolobi (SALL) Traditional Areas.

“… we have never said that (creating 25 constituencies) anywhere. But what we have only said is that we are creating the Guan Constituency, in the Oti Region to increase the numbers from 275 to 276.

“The report is misleading. It is intended to deceive the people and cause either disaffection or over-affection for the EC,” he added.

The EC vice chairman reiterated that the commission has not at any point in time said it was creating 25 more constituencies.

In a previous interview with Accra-based TV3, Dr Bossman Asare is reported to have said, “We are in the process of creating some new constituencies and Guan District is one of them. If not because parliament is on recess, we should have started the process in parliament.

Relatedly, the Chairperson of the EC, Jean Mensa has urged the media to be circumspect in their reports ahead of next year’s elections.

Speaking at the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) Awards in Accra over the weekend, Mrs Mensa said the EC will protect the country’s democracy in the 2024 general elections.

“We at the EC are not above scrutiny. Scrutinise and critique our work as your role requires but do so with objectivity. Criticisms laced with insults and falsehood should be beneath you,” she told members of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) on Sunday.

It was on the theme: “Leveraging Media Freedom to Sustain the Democratic and Security Architecture: The Litmus Test of Election 2024”.

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