The General Council of the Church of Pentecost has elected Apostle Eric Nyamekye to replace Apostle Professor Opoku Onyinah as Chairman of the premier Pentecostal church in Ghana.
The elections, which took place during the General Council Meeting on Thursday, saw the head of Koforidua Area of COP garner 994 out of 1009 members – representing 98.5 per cent – in his favour with 14 opposing his nomination.
He is expected to be officially announced as the next Chairman of COP.
He becomes the sixth head of the Church.
His predecessor, Apostle Onyinah, has served for the past 10 years and he is scheduled to officially step down on Friday, May 5.
PROCEDURE FOR ELECTING THE CHAIRMAN
From ARTICLE 12 SECTION 3 of COP Constitution
1. The Executive Council, regulating its own proceedings shall, after prayerful consideration, present a candidate from the list of eligible candidates, to the Electoral College for open discussion and secret ballot. (it means, the Executive will meet and take decision through their own means, ie, discussions, prophecies, etc to determine the candidate at THEIR LEVEL)
2. Members of the Executive Council, Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, National Heads and Area Heads shall constitute an Electoral College to put forward a candidate for the Chairmanship to be voted upon by the General COUNCIL. (After the Executive have gotten the candidate, they present him to the Electoral College for their approval through voting.)
3. Elections at the Electoral College shall be done by a secret ballot supervised by an Electoral Commission appointed by the Executive Council. Elections at the Electoral College shall be by simple majority.
(He must secure over 50% of the College votes)
4. The candidate so elected at the Electoral College shall be presented to the General Council for approval by two-thirds (2/3) majority votes of the members present and voting. (two-thirds of votes cast, valid ballots and spoilt ballots. If some Councillors decide not to vote, it will not have effect on the election)
5. If the candidate so presented fails to obtain the required two-thirds (2/3) majority votes from the General Council, the Electoral College shall nominate a second candidate for approval by two – thirds (2/3) majority votes of members present and voting. (the Executive will meet again, go through their procedures, select a new candidate and present him to the electoral college again)
6. If the second candidate also fails to obtain the two-thirds (2/3) majority votes from the General Council, the Electoral College shall nominate a third candidate for approval by two-thirds of the members present and voting (The Executive Council and Electoral College shall go through the previous procedures again)
7. If the third candidate presented by the Electoral College also fails to obtain the two –thirds (2/3) majority votes, then the two (2) candidates who drew the highest number of votes shall be presented to the General Council for election on simple majority basis. (here is the only instance two candidates could be presented at the same time, but they will not be allowed any campaigning opportunities)
8. Where there is a tie, it shall be resolved by the casting of lots. (this clause in the Constitution has been tabled for possible review during the upcoming council meeting)
9. Where there is a directive prophecy on a candidate, it shall be judged on its own merits by the Electoral College. The candidate so accepted by the Electoral College shall be presented to the General Council to be voted upon.
10. Voting
Shall be by secret ballot (at all levels : College level and General Council level)
NOTE: There is no room for campaigning because only one person is presented at a time
Source: 3news.com|Ghana