I am not responsible for the deprivation of the right to vote in Oti – Dan Botwe

The designated minister of local government and rural development, said he was not responsible for the denial of the right to vote of some communities in the Oti region during the 2020 legislative elections.

Rather, he called on people who wanted to know why the residents of Santrokofi, Akpafu, Lolobi and Likpe (SALL) in the region could not vote in the legislative elections to address their investigation to the Election Commission (EC).

“The ministry has nothing to do with the delimitation of constituencies for the elections,” Botwe said, adding: “It is purely a matter for the EC.”

The SALL in Guan District was not given the opportunity to vote in the legislative elections because there were issues as to whether they should vote in Jasikan or Hohoe. They could only vote in the presidential elections.

Voters expressed disappointment at the government for not establishing a constituency for the residents of Guan District despite its establishment two years ago.

Mr Botwe explained to the parliamentary appointments committee, during its audit on Tuesday, that at least voters in the nominated communities had polling stations on their voter ID cards and voted in the presidential election.

He said the blame placed on the late Department of Regional Reorganization, which he led, for its failure to secure the vote of the SALL electorate stemmed from a deep and baseless misunderstanding.

“Link that to the vote; the ministry had nothing to do with who should vote in the presidential election. It is only the job of the Election Commission, ”said Botwe.

He said complaints about who should belong to which region should be directed to the commission of inquiry which oversaw the referendum of the new regions.

“As soon as a commission of inquiry was established, the ministry did not determine who will be part of the new regions or who will not. The ministry does not determine where the referendum will take place. This is the Commission, ”said Botwe.

He refuted claims that the new regions were created on tribal lines, saying that in reference to several ethnic groups residing in different parts of Ghana, “anyone stays anywhere”.

Mr. Botwe cautioned those who called themselves supreme leaders without properly resorting to their jurisdictions not to lose sight of the repercussions.

He called on political parties to be financially strong to reduce the monetization of politics and agreed on the need to build consensus among ministries to tackle environmental and sanitation issues.