Ghanaian legislator Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa is demanding the disclosure of the amount of money spent on the aborted referendum.
President Nana Akufo-Addo, in a national address on Sunday evening, withdrew the scheduled December 17 Referendum.
According to him, there was no “durable national consensus” on the matter following consultations.
The Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa wants government to reveal the amount of tax payers’ money spent on the exercise.
“As transparency and accountability demands, can government now disclose how much it has spent on this abortive referendum thus far; and steps being taken to prevent any more financial loss to the state, especially as we are aware printing of ballot papers and other ancillary expenditures had long commenced”, he demanded.
The referendum was to decide on an amendment of Article 55 (3) of the Constitution to enable political parties to participate in local level elections.
Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa believes the abortion of the referendum is a victory for the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
“In these circumstances, I am convinced that it will not serve the public interest to go ahead with the holding of the public referendum on 17th December even though I believe a strong campaign for a YES vote would have succeeded. This is not the kind of atmosphere in which the repeal of an entrenched provision of the Constitution should take place.”
Legal expert and US-based accounting professor Stephen Kwaku Asare popularly known as Kwaku Azar has also questioned the President’s right to call off the referendum.
