Residents in the Hohoe Municipality have expressed their views on the presidential race in the upcoming 2020 general elections.
It will be recalled that, the Electoral Commission (EC) cleared 12 out of 17 presidential aspirants who successfully filed nominations for the 2020 General Elections on Monday, October 19, with five disqualified on the grounds of failing to meet requirements of the EC.
In that regard, some residents within the municipality who spoke to the Ghana News Agency (GNA), expressed mixed reactions. While some of them commended the EC on a good job done, others called for more for improvement, with a few expressing the willingness to vote for a female candidate.
One Miss Rita Batse, an Entrepreneur within the municipality, pointed out that, the EC must be commended for a great work in spite of some backlash received by the Commission which portrayed it as “unfriendly.”
She however noted that, although most people thought some smaller political parties might not sail through, she was surprised that it wasn’t the case in the end.
Miss Batse also indicated that, 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 Hohoe resident further stressed that, although it was unfortunate for some candidates to be 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.
The Deputy Communication Officer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC)in the Constituency, Mr. Prosper Kumi, 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 unfavorable.
