EC NOT AWARE OF FORMATION OF NEW PARTY — GYABAAH (PAGE 12, SEPT 18, 2010)

The Brong Ahafo Regional Office of the Electoral Commission (EC) has said it is not aware of the formation of a new political party in the region, since no such party has registered with it in the region.
‘‘Legally, no new party has been formed in the region as of now and even if it is in the process, it has not been completed. We do not know anything about it and we have not as yet been informed about such a process from the EC Head Office in Accra”, the EC Regional Office has stated.
Mr George Gyabaah, the Brong Ahafo Regional Director of the EC who disclosed this to the Daily Graphic, said that the formation of a political party was a long process and so if any group of persons were contemplating forming a party, his office was not in the position to say so.
Mr Gyabaah explained that to register a political party, at least a list which has two-thirds of its founder members throughout the country must be sent to the EC Head Office in Accra for scrutiny.
The regional director indicated that after that, the head office would send copies of the list to its offices in the regions for verification and added that the founder members should be representatives from the various districts.
He further explained that after the verification, if the EC was satisfied with the list that the said members really existed then it would provide a provisional certificate to the founders of the new party to meet the other requirements.
According to Mr Gyabaah, one critical requirement was for the new party to ensure that it had offices in all the regions and at least two-thirds of such offices were also in the districts.
The EC Regional Director declared, ‘‘Indeed, it is a long process and so if this new party has begun, we do not know of it in the region officially and if they have done anything at the national level, we have not been notified of the formation of any party’’
‘‘As far as the commission is concerned we have not been informed and so we do not recognise any party and not until the time that Accra informs us, we are not aware. And we do not normally take what is on air as official position and when we hear, we do not comment’’, Mr Gyabaah emphasised.
The Daily Graphic reported in its Wednesday, September 15, 2010 edition that the new party had the camel as its symbol and its motto, ‘‘Together we build, together we enjoy’’.
According to the report, the RDPP colours were red, white, green, black and blue, which represented anger, happiness, freshness, frustration, love and believed in the ideologies and principles of former President Jerry John Rawlings. He added that one Mr Raphael Cubagee aka Shamo Quaye was the National Co-ordinator of the RDPP, and he announced the formation of the party at a press conference at Fiapre, near Sunyani, the Brong Ahafo Regional capital, which is also the headquarters of the new party.