News:
Mahama Ayariga
November 13, 2021
On the question on whether the crusade to ensure that citizens of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) would be able to elect their lawmakers to the community Parliament at the end of the life span of the fifth parliament, a member of the Ghanaian delegation to the current Parliament, Mahama Ayariga has given indications that he would go to the Community Court to ensure that any lawmaker coming to the next sixth Parliament would be through direct election.
According to him, he wants the ECOWAS Court of Justice to forcefully end the transitional protocol for direct election which has been more than twenty (20) years.
“So, if Members of Parliament of the fifth (5th) legislature their tenure ends, the next parliament, if they are not directly elected, they should not be sworn in, because the transition has ended; I want the court to declare that the transition has ended”.
In an interview as to when he would head for the Community Court of Justice, he noted that he is still having discussions with his colleagues on the matter and at the appropriate time he would move to the Court.
When further asked if the direct election of MPs to the ECOWAS Parliament, a flagship project by the Speaker Dr. Sidie Mohamed Tunis is achievable before he leaves office, Mahama Ayariga responded in the affirmative and added that, “if we work hard at it, it can be achieved”
And added again that, there is nothing more to be done except for the Authority of Heads of States and Governments of ECOWAS to say that, “they want direct elections to start this time, that is all that is needed to be done”.
“It is a protocol and it was supposed to be a transitional arrangement and something that was supposed to be done over twenty years ago, and is no longer a transitional agreement, time has elapsed, the Authority of Heads of States they have already legislate on the matter”.
Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com