The Keta Municipal Assembly, situated in the Volta Region, encountered a setback during its inaugural ceremony as it failed to elect a Presiding Member. Despite the assembly's efforts, neither of the two candidates managed to secure the required two-thirds majority of votes from the assembly members.
During the inaugural event held at the Keta Municipal assembly hall, Mr. Rojah Avorgbedor, an Electoral Commission Officer at Keta, announced that the assembly would need to conduct another election within ten days. This decision was in accordance with Section 17 of the Local Governance ACT 2016 (ACT 936), which mandates that a Presiding Member must secure two-thirds of the votes.
The candidates, Mr. Wisdom Seadey, a businessman and NDC Chairman of Keta, and Mr. Promise Kofi Baccah, a teacher, received 20 and 13 votes, respectively. However, neither candidate reached the required threshold for election.
According to Mr. Rojah, if no candidate secures the necessary votes in two consecutive run-offs within ten days, the candidates will be set aside for a fresh nomination process. Additionally, those who participated in the initial election are not eligible for the subsequent nominations.
Despite the setback, there is optimism among the candidates and assembly members that the next election will yield a successful outcome. Meanwhile, 32 Assembly members, including 22 elected representatives and 10 government appointees, were sworn into office during the ceremony.