Tarkwa MCE confirmed ‘illegally’, disgruntled assemblymen head to High Court to challenge outcome

The President’s nominee of a Municipal Chief Executive for the Tarkwa Nsuaem Municipal Assembly, Benjamin Kesse have been confirmed. The confirmation was decided by a total of 19 votes out of 21 assembly members present at the voting center this morning. Some members of the assembly, numbering twenty (20) are however challenging the outcome of the vote, as they allege the confirmation was fraught with serious illegalities. Assembly member for Tebrebe Electoral Area, Manasseh Obour told Skyy Power Fm, that the decision will be challenged at the Tarkwa High Court.

He accused the Regional Minister, Hon. Kwabena Okyere Darko Mensah and some members perceived to be sympathizers of the ruling New Patriotic Party secretly convened the assembly this morning to confirm the MCE, without recourse to the assembly’s constitution. He indicated that, a majority of the assembly members who are perceived to be protestants to the confirmation of the MCE, were disallowed from entering the assembly hall to cast their vote.

“We were present but they prevented us from entering to vote. Police officers at the entrance used their bats on us” he said.

He continued that the Presiding Member, Emmanuel Gado was taken out of the assembly, and an impression created by some ‘cohort’ of the MCE, that he has been taken ill and as such they had to appoint an interim Presiding Member to oversee the confirmation.

Nonetheless, Mr Obour stressed that, an official communication ought to have allowed due process, by getting the full or at least two-thirds representation of the assembly to elect the interim Presiding Member for such a critical event as the ‘”confirmation of the MCE”

He has threatened, with the support of the other assembly members to injunct the functionality of the MCE.

“We are heading to the High Court to injunct the functionality of the assembly. This is an illegality. They did not employ legal means to confirm the MCE” he intimated.

The MCE, Benjamin Kesse, was rejected in the first confirmation exercise last Wednesday.