GHAMRO board elections rescheduled to 5 May

The election was previously scheduled for 18 March, pending approval by the Electoral Commission of Ghana (ECG), but was rescheduled after nominations were reopened because the nominees who were revealed in February “did not meet the full complement” required to hold an election. This is according to the organisation’s updated constitution, GHAMRO election committee secretary Gloria Dzifa Ashinyo said.

The development follows meetings between the GHAMRO election committee, management, and the ECG last week.

“In this regard, the election committee invites all the qualified candidates for a meeting on 15 April at 1pm GMT,” a statement from the election committee reads. “The venue: the GHAMRO boardroom in Accra.”

At the meeting, stakeholders will hold discussions on the upcoming elections and review the candidate ballot. Ashinyo told Music In Africa that 10 candidates had qualified for next month’s elections. They include Kwesi Ernest Annin, Elizabeth Tagoe, Kwame Adinkra, Yaw Agyeman Badu, Oheneba Kissi, Kwabbena Kwakye Kabobo, Ruth Benny Wood, John Mensah Sarpong, George Ofori-Attah and former GHAMRO chairperson Rex Omar. However, Diana Hopeson, Francis Boahene and Benjamin Mensah did not make it past the vetting stage.

The GHAMRO constitution now allows a maximum of seven members to be elected onto the board, which must comprise three composers, one publisher, two performers and a producer of sound recordings.

Meanwhile, Ashinyo reiterated a March statement to Music In Africa that the election committee is committed to delivering on its mandate of conducting elections and swearing in a new board despite the obstacles GHAMRO has faced throughout the process.