Some residents in the Hohoe Municipality have shared their views on the presidential race in the upcoming 2020 general elections.
The Electoral Commission (EC), on October 19, cleared 12 out of the 17 presidential aspirants who filed nominations and disqualified five on grounds of not fulfilling expected requirements.
Some residents, who spoke to the Ghana News Agency (GNA), commended the EC while others called for more room for improvement with some expressing the willingness to give their mandate to a female candidate.
Ms Rita Batse, an Entrepreneur, said the EC must be commended for the good work despite some backlash the Commission had received to portray it as “unfriendly.”
She said although most people thought some smaller political parties might not sail through, it was surprising it did not happen that way.
Ms Batse said the number of contestants were unprecedented because the Commission gave room to some of the parties to amend minor details on the forms they had submitted, which had no legal consequences.
She said the gesture by the EC had made it gained the trust of Ghanaians adding that, “this is the best EC we ever had. All parties had a fair playing ground.”
The Entrepreneur said although it was unfortunate that some candidates were disqualified, the grounds on which they were disallowed were justifiable and legal.
She said the increasing number of women on the ballot indicated the EC’s commitment to ensuring gender equality and citizens must applaud the Commission.
Mr Prosper Kumi, Deputy Communication Officer of the Hohoe Constituency, National Democratic Congress (NDC), noted that the timeline given to political parties to file nominations was short with the timing of the new voter registration in October which was unfavourable.
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