Following the death of the Member of Parliament for the Ejisu Constituency in the Ashanti region, Dr. John Kumah, the Electoral Commission is expected to conduct a by-election in the constituency to elect a representative.

The MP, who was also a deputy minister of finance, died on Thursday, March 7, 2024, after battling a short illness. Per the constitution, the Parliament of Ghana is expected to inform the commission within seven (7) days for a by-election to take place.

Despite the commission awaiting official communication from Parliament, the director of electoral services at the Electoral Commission, Dr. Serebour Quaicoe, at the Inter-Party Advisory Committee with political parties revealed that it is ready in terms of resources to conduct by-elections in the Ejisu constituency should the commission be informed officially.

“If you look at Article 112 of the 1992 Constitution as amended when a vacancy occurs less than three months to a general election, there won’t be a by-election but if it is more than three months, then the Commission has no choice to conduct a by-election”, Dr. Quaicoe said.

He also noted that “officially the clerk of Parliament is yet to inform them and until then, the commission is not aware of any vacancy”.

Dr. John Ampontuah Kumah was a lawyer and an entrepreneur with over 15 years of experience in leadership, creativity, innovation, and resourcefulness in creating jobs and supporting youth development.

As the first chief executive officer for the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (NEIP), he successfully positioned the NEIP as the enabler of the Entrepreneurship Ecosystem in Ghana.

Under his leadership, the programme trained 7,000 startups in 2018 under the Presidential Business Support Programme and supported 1,350 beneficiaries with funds.

Prior to working for government, Dr. John Kumah was a founding member and Managing Partner of Aduaprokye Chambers, a law firm. He also worked as the founder of Majak Associates Ltd, a building and construction company.

In November 2020, John Ampontuah Kumah received a Doctorate in Business Innovation from the Swiss Business School in Switzerland. Before then, he had acquired a Masters in Applied Business Research, at the same Business School in 2019.

His rich educational background includes a Post Graduate Diploma in Applied Business Research in 2019 at Nobel International Business School (NIBS). In 2009, he had an Executive Masters degree in Business Administration (Finance), from the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA).

It all began at the University of Ghana, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics with Philosophy, a Bachelor of Art Degree (Law) LLB in 2011 and a Professional Law Certificate from the Ghana School of Law in 2013. He was admitted to the Ghana Bar in 2013.

As an Entrepreneur by birth, a Lawyer by Profession, a Politician by Choice, a Preacher by Divine Calling, he sees none of these as an accident, but a call to serve humanity.