Otumfuo Osei Tutu II — Asantehene

Asantehene blames EC for proliferation of political parties and chastises chiefs for endorsing candidates

Enoch Darfah Frimpong Politics Oct - 28 - 2016 , 08:25

The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, has said the failure of the Electoral Commission (EC) to enforce the Political Parties Law, Act 574, has encouraged the proliferation of parties which do not meet legal requirements.

He said the EC was partly to blame for registering anybody at all who approached the commission for registration without doing due diligence on them.

The Asantehene was speaking at a meeting of the Ashanti Regional House of Chiefs in Kumasi last Wednesday, where the EC Chairperson, Mrs Charlotte Osei, briefed the traditional rulers on the electoral process and measures being instituted to secure the security and integrity of this year’s election.

Otumfuo Osei Tutu urged the EC to ensure that after this year’s general election, it would work to remove all those political parties which did not meet the requirements of the law.

That, he said, would ensure peace, help reduce the ‘noise’ and get rid of the numerous misunderstandings.

Act 574

The Political Parties Act stipulates that parties should have offices in all 10 regions of the country, and in addition, be organised in not less than two-thirds of districts in each region.

They are also to file their audited accounts annually and submit expenditure returns, six months after every general election and by-election.

But the Asantehene said the EC was not ensuring that parties adhere to that provision.