Council of State elections for tomorrow

TEN persons would be elected throughout the country tomorrow to represent the regions as members of the Council of State.

One person from each region will be elected in elections that will be organised by the Electoral Commission (EC).

The 10 will join 15 others who will be appointed to counsel the President in the function of his duties, among others.

Already the names of those who would form the Electoral College have been submitted to the various regional offices of the EC.

Under the law, each district assembly in the region would submit two names to form the Electoral College that would elect one person to represent the region.

Article 89 (2)(c) of the 1992 Constitution states that “one representative from each region of Ghana elected, in accordance with regulations made by the Electoral Commission under article 51 of this Constitution, by an electoral college comprising two representatives from each of the districts in the region nominated by the District Assemblies in the region; and (d) eleven other members appointed by the President”.

The election will be done on the first past the post basis, meaning the candidate with the highest number of valid votes cast would be pronounced elected.

To qualify as a candidate, one must be a Ghanaian, 18 years or above and “the person must be a resident in the region or must hail from the region”.

The President in consultation with Parliament will appoint one person who has previously held the office of Chief Justice; one person who has previously held the office of Chief of Defence Staff of the Armed Forces of Ghana; one person who has previously held the office of Inspector-General of Police and the President of the National House of Chiefs.