The Office of the Attorney-General has called on Franklin Cudjoe, President of IMANI Africa, to cease his criticisms against the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame, and instead focus on presenting factual information.
Cudjoe’s recent social media post urged Attorney-General Godfred Yeboah Dame to issue an unreserved apology to the people of SALL (Santrokofi, Akpafu, Likpe, and Lolobi) for perceived inaction regarding their voting rights during the 2020 elections.
These residents, despite being eligible voters, were unable to participate in parliamentary elections in 2020 due to the absence of a designated constituency for them.
The matter was brought before the courts, resulting in an interim injunction from the Ho High Court against the Electoral Commission’s gazetting of the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) John Peter Amewu as the Member of Parliament-elect for Hohoe.
Subsequently, Godfred Dame, then Deputy Attorney General, successfully contested this injunction at the Supreme Court.
In response to Cudjoe’s call for an apology, Isaac Wilberforce Mensah, the Spokesperson of the Attorney General, clarified that the Attorney General’s role does not involve advising the Electoral Commission on constituency creation.
He emphasized that constituency delineation falls under the sole authority of the Electoral Commission, not the Attorney General.
Mensah further highlighted that during the period in question, Godfred Yeboah Dame served as a deputy and did not offer advice to the President, as implied by Cudjoe.
He stressed that attacking the Attorney General for matters outside his constitutional mandate is unwarranted and advised directing such inquiries to the appropriate authorities.
“The duties of the Attorney General under the constitution are not about the creation of constituencies for which reason you would attack the Attorney General. These questions should be directed to the proper quarters. The constitution under the representation of the People’s Chapter has given that duty specifically to a particular body in this country and it is like we are trying to attack the Attorney General for anything that happens in the country,”
