News:
October 4, 2017
The much touted election of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs), would not take place within the 24 months as promised by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration.
Ghanaians are awaiting election of MMDCEs as promised by the, then opposition NPP in the lead up to the 2016 Presidential and Parliamentary elections.
The necessary procedures involved in making election of the MMDCEs has not been triggered yet.
According to a Local Government Minister, O.B Amoah, for the MMDCE elections to be possible, there is a need for a referendum to be held or Article 55 (3) of the Constitution amended to make the position a partisan one.
O.B Amoah, while speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show, stated emphatically that, the election of MMDCEs will certainly not take place in 2018.
“It is not 2018; I don’t know why this thing keeps coming up and indeed if we want to go the full hog and make the election partisan, it means we should even do a referendum to amend article 55 (3) so that we can get MMDCEs elected on multi-party basis. So we are working towards that, but certainly, it is not 2018.”
“The next assembly election is September 2019, and we should be able to work towards that date. Most probably, by September 2019, we can let the referendum coincide with the assembly election so that by that time Ghanaians are voting for their assembly members, they will also be deciding that after 2019 MMDCEs should be elected on multi-party basis,” he added.
Article 55 (3) of Ghana’s constitution states that:
Subject to the provisions of this article, a political party is free to participate in shaping the political will of the people, to disseminate information on political ideas, social and economic programme of a national character, and sponsor candidates for elections to any public office other than to District Assemblies or lower local government units.
The issue of election of MMDCEs had in time past taken center stage in major discussions in the country with some Ghanaians demanding for it.
By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com