During the inaugural meeting of the Adentan Municipal Assembly, the newly appointed members were unable to elect a presiding member. The purpose of the meeting, which was chaired by Municipal Coordinating Director Madam Rachel Fosua Sarpong, was to elect a presiding member in order to establish the full composition of the assembly.
Shortly after the meeting began, the official languages for conducting business during meetings were proposed and adopted by the house. These are English, Ewe, Ga, Akan, and Hausa. Following this, the presiding, Madam Rachel Fosua Sarpong, introduced the next item on the agenda, which was to elect the presiding member and oversee the voting process with the Electoral Commission.
The procedures for the election were clearly explained to the newly appointed members, and nominations were opened for a period of 15 minutes. Two candidates were nominated: Hon. Tony Blair, Assembly Member for New Legon Electoral Area, and Hon. Emmanuel Sackey, Assembly Member for ManMomo Electoral Area.
The election took place, and Hon. Tony Blair obtained 8 votes, representing 40% of the total members, while Hon. Emmanuel Sackey obtained 10 votes, representing 50% of the total members. Neither candidate obtained the required two-thirds majority of the assembly.
According to the electoral guidelines, if no candidate receives the necessary majority, a runoff election should be held between the top two candidates on the same day. If this second round does not produce a winner with the required two-third majority, a final election should be held within 10 days, still involving the same candidates. However, if none of the candidates achieves the two-thirds majority in this third round, nominations will be reopened for different candidates.
The Adentan Municipal Assembly consists of 20 members, including the Member of Parliament, the Municipal Chief Executive, 12 elected assembly members, and six government appointees. However, the Member of Parliament does not have voting rights per the standing orders.
Another election was held between the two initial candidates, but the results remained the same, with Hon. Tony Blair obtaining 8 votes and Hon. Emmanuel Sackey also obtaining 10 votes. As a result, a future meeting will be scheduled within 10 days to vote again for these candidates and select a presiding member.
If the results remain unchanged during this subsequent meeting, different assembly members will be nominated to allow for new candidates aside from those who previously contested.
The inaugural meeting was attended by respected traditional leaders in the Municipality, the Member of Parliament for Adentan, Hon. Mohammed Adamu Ramadan, members of the clergy, political parties’ executives and members, heads of departments and staff of the Municipal Assembly, as well as heads of security services and members from the general public.
SOURCE: ISD, ADENTAN