Despite expectations of strong competition from Lloyd Evans and Johnny Aryeetey prior to the elections, Monney swept to victory, garnering 310 of the 510 valid votes cast.

Over 500 members of the GJA cast their ballots at various polling centers across the country, lower than the over 650 votes that had been expected.

The election was supposed to be held in March, 2017, but was postponed because of some unresolved disputes.

Monney had expressed confidence of victory ahead of the polls, pointing to the recent Unionisation of the Association as a major success of his tenure.

“The chances can be determined and will be determined by the voters, and I believe that I have done justice to my leadership mettle after only one term in office. For the first in the history of GJA, we’ve been able to unionize this Association, and what it means is that, the profile of media workers in Ghana will change for the better,” he said on Thursday.

Lloyd Evans who came second, polled 147 votes but finished well behind Monney.

Evans, speaking on Eyewitness News on Thursday, said that a change in leadership was necessary for the progress of the Association.

“This election is about leadership, we need to get the right calibre of people to lead the association. Leadership that will not criticize its own people but will rather support them, empower them, encourage them to move forward,” he said

Evans had discounted the Unionisation of GJA which was touted by Monney, stating that it was flawed and had bred uncertainty about the status of the Association.

“To be honest, I don’t know whether [GJA] is now a Union or an Association. The decision to unionize took most of us by surprise, it was announced on September 12 when we were in the middle of elections. This can’t fly in the face of the law. [The uncertainty] is very disgraceful, to say the least. The Executive, they wanted it this way and rushed for it. Most of us are surprised,” he had said.

‘Johnny Aryeetey or John Mahama’

The third candidate in the Presidential race,  Johnny Aryeetey could not cast his ballot as his name could not be found on the register at the polling station.

He polled just 44 of the 505 votes cast. In the spot where his name should have been, the name “John Dramani Mahama” was printed.

Insisting his name had been on the list presented to the candidates prior to the polls, Aryeetey claims that the results had been “predetermined.”

He later said on Eyewitness News that he would consider legal advise on the matter and might challenge the results.

Final results (Presidential)

Roland Affail Monney – 310

Lloyd Evans – 147

Johnny Aryeetey – 44

Valid votes cast – 501

Total votes cast – 505

2. Vice Presidential

Linda Asante Agyei – 209

Tina Aforo Yeboah – 111

Francis Kotutse – 93

Mattew Mckwame – 92

Valid – 505

Total votes 505

General Secretary

Edmund Kofi Yeboah – 251

Dave Agbenu – 250

Valid 501

Rejected 3

Total 504

Public Affairs

Mary Mensah – 287

Nii Adjei Klu – 216

Valid votes 503

Rejected 2

Total valid votes 505

Organising Secretary

Albert Tuffour – 312

Vance Azu  – 186

Valid 498

Rejected 4

Total votes 502

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By: Edwin Kwakofi/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Affail Monney retains GJA Presidency with landslide win appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

He said the elections cannot be considered to be free and fair as the incumbent executives, led by President Affail Monney, are skewing the processes in their favour.

He told Citi News’ Marie-Franz Fordjoe that he believes the election is just a “mere formality” and the results have been “predetermined.”

“I have number 138 as my candidate, Mr. Johny Aryeetey who is vying for the presidency of the GJA, yet if you check with any other polling agent it has at number 138 as his Excellency John Dramani Mahama who is a member of the GJA,” he said.

He added that “even if my candidate is allowed to vote, it just goes to fuel the suspicion that most candidates in this year’s election had that this year’s GJA election is a mere formality, an that some people have been predetermined to come out victorious….We have pinpointed a lot of issues to the Electoral Committee that we are uncomfortable with, and believe that the incumbent executives are skewing certain things to their advantage, but they threw us out.”

Elections are currently ongoing at various polling stations across the country to elect new executives to lead the Association.

The GJA election was initially supposed to be held in March, 2017, but was postponed because of some unresolved disputes.

A presidential aspirant, Lloyd Evans was initially disqualified but he challenged it in court and eventually won.

A total of 656 media personnel are expected to cast their votes nationwide to elect the leaders to man the affairs of the Association.

There are three aspirants vying for the GJA presidential slot. But many believe the race is between the incumbent—Roland Affail Monney and Lloyd Evans.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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A statement signed by Mr. Yaw Boadu- Ayeboafoh, the Chairman of the Committee, and copied to the Ghana News Agency, on Friday, said it had submitted a copy of the report to the GJA Executives.

It, therefore, urged the Electoral Commission (EC) to lift the indefinite postponement of the elections for the process to take its course.

It thanked the Election Committee, the GJA Executives, the Petitioners and all stakeholders for their support and co-operation throughout the process of the hearing.

The statement expressed the hope that all stakeholders of the GJA would accept the decision in good faith for the overall well-being of the Association.

Other members of the Committee are Mr. Michael Boadu and Mr. Zakaria Tanko Musah.

Background

The incumbent GJA president, Affail Monney, faces stiff opposition from some contenders including former President of the Institute of Financial and Economic Journalists (IFEJ), Lloyd Evans.

But Lloyd Evans was disqualified by the GJA Election Committee on grounds that he did not “pass the test as a member of the GJA in good standing,” a decision he had appealed.

Similarly, Mr. Matthew Mac-Kwame, who filed for the position of Vice President, also failed to meet the requirements of Article 47 (b) (iii) which states that “All members aspiring for Executive positions at the National and Regional levels must be members in good standing at least ninety (90) days before elections.”

The committee, however, cleared Mr. Johnnie Aryeetey and Mr. Affail Monney for the election.

Meanwhile, there is also a petition from some journalists who are challenging the authority of the GJA led by Affail Monney to organisee the election.

They contend that Mr. Monney and his executives’ mandate expired as far back as March 2016.

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Source: GNA

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The Elections Committee of the GJA, announced the disqualification of Mr. Evans, who is a former President of the Institute of Financial and Economic Journalists (IFEJ), on grounds that he did not “pass the test as a member of the GJA in good standing.”

[contextly_sidebar id=”Df7mlawYJA2OD8VXdPtM7XuLAa5YvROx”]“Mr Lloyd Evans, who was vying for the position of President, failed to meet the requirement under Article 47 (b) (iii) which states that “All members aspiring for Executive positions at the National and Regional levels must be members in good standing at least ninety (90) days before the elections.

“Records available to the Committee indicate that Mr Evans paid his membership dues covering 2015 on 5th Dec. 2016 and that for 2016 on 14th Feb, 2017. In view of these, Mr Evans is also caught by the 90-day rule and therefore disqualified” a statement from the Chairman of the GJA Elections Committee, Ben Assorow said.

The disqualification makes the race for the GJA presidency a two-horse race between incumbent President Affail Monney, and his colleague from the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), Johnnie Aryeetey.

At the vice presidential level, an executive of the GJA, Mathew Mac Kwame was also disqualified.

Chairman of the GJA’s Elections Committee, Ben Assorow in an interview with Citi News’ Umaru Sanda said the disqualifications were done in line with laid down legal procedure.

“They do not meet the requirements of the [GJA] constitution. It is in the constitution, Article 47 b (3) that all persons aspiring for executive positions at the national and regional levels must be members in good standing at least ninety days before the election.

“We have no right to do something outside the constitution.We are working for the GJA and mother Ghana. There are laws governing the elections of the GJA and that is what we are following.”

Asked whether those disqualified had given an official response,  he said “We don’t have any response from them yet. There is an adjudication committee that the GJA has put in place. If they do not subscribe with what the committee has done, they can appeal that committee.”

I will fight my disqualification – Lloyd Evans

The Disqualified candidate, Lloyd Evans, has vowed to resist the decision by the incumbent executives of the association to deliberately kick him out of the race.  In a statement issued by his campaign office, they described the development as “bogus”.

“We are more than convinced that a cabal of benefactors and surrogates of the incumbent President are bent on perpetuating themselves and their personal aggrandizement at the expense of the collective good of all Journalists.

““Team Lloyd” has been made aware almost a month ago about this ploy to deny Lloyd the Presidency by any means possible and we are working hard to reverse this bogus decision by any means possible.

“We therefore, call on all journalists to disregard this obvious Machiavellian tactics at the 11th hour, because “no force or army is too strong to stop a peoples’ will for change.”

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @EfeAnsah

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Mr Elvis Darko, the 2016 Financial Reporter received a Hyundai Grand i10 as his prize, while the other award winners also received Samsung Smart LED 40 inch Flat screen Television sets.

Mr Roland Affail Monney, GJA President expressed gratitude to Ideal Finance, the main sponsor of the awards and other sponsors for taking keen interest in supporting the journalism profession.

He explained that the presentation of the awards delayed due to circumstances beyond the control of the GJA leadership.

Mr Ekow Blankson, the Director of Corporate Communications and Strategies at the Ideal Groupe, said sponsoring the awards is the company’s contribution to the growth of journalism in the country.

“We are very happy to do what we have done … and we don’t regret doing this,” he said.

Mr Blankson called on journalists to practice with all ethical standards so as to give Ideal Finance more confidence to continuously support the profession.

On behalf of Mr Aremeyaw Anas, Mr Latif Abubakar of Tiger Eye said: “It is always interesting when people appreciate the work that you do.”

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency Mr Abubakar said the company’s focus was not the award but achieving results.

Mr Ben Assorow, the Chairman of the GJA Elections Committee congratulated all journalists for their immense contribution to the country’s development.

The GJA as part of its core mandate organised the 2016 awards on August 27 to recognise and honour the deserving Journalists for 2015.

In all, 19 awards were presented to individuals and organisations but some are yet to receive their awards.

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Source: GNA

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