The Member of Parliament (MP) for Cape Coast North Constituency in the Central Region, has said the confusion that reared its ugly head during the voting process to confirm Mr Ernest Arthur as the president’s nominee for the Cape Coast Metropolitan Assembly on Sunday, 17 October 2021, was because the nominee’s renomination did not come with a reason.

The NDC MP said the renomination of Mr Arthur for the third time running was not accompanied by a letter assigning reasons for his renomination from the presidency.

The MP, who is an ex-officio member of the Cape Coast Metropolitan Assembly, claimed that the president failed to assign a reason for the renomination of the MCE.

Dr Kwabena Minta Nyarko made this revelation in an interview on Monday, 18 October 2021. 

He said per the Local Government Act, a person who is renominated for the third time had to have a letter from the presidency stating the reasons for his or her renomination.

“In the case of Mr Ernest Arthur, this was missing, and when members demanded to see the said letter, it led to the confusion in the hall”, he explained.

He said after the back-and-forth, nothing was presented by the Presiding Member of the Assembly at the voting grounds.

According to him, Mr Authur’s third renomination from the presidency came without a valid reason, stating that this was a blatant disregard for the Local Government Act.

He said the Assembly members felt slighted by the actions of the president through the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development.

Per the Local Government Act, Mr Arthur should not have been nominated for the third time without a valid reason and let alone voted for as the president’s nominee.

The reason for the renomination of a nominee who, on two occasions, failed to garner the required votes, should come with a justification, he reminded members of the governing New Patriotic Party.

There was no justification in the case for Mr Authur’s third-time renomination, he argued.

He noted in an interview with Neat FM that what really angered the Assembly members the more was the continuous change of the venue for the confirmation of Mr Arthur without prior notice to the members.